Ties of a Thief
by CDPanda
Summary: Leandra, born and raised on the streets of Manhattan, has stole and robbed all her life in order to survive. When a chance encounter with the turtles brings her life into a new form of living, she doesn't know how to cope, or even if she wants to. Can she learn to trust her new family and friends, or will years of surviving alone haunt her forever? My first procrastination fic :D
1. The Rush Approach

I leant heavily against the wall outside the local supermarket, the flow of people continuous from the automatic doors in the surprisingly quiet night of Manhattan.

'God, I'm starving. Do people not go to shops for food anymore or do I just have bad timing' I thought miserably as I hugged myself tighter against the chill of the cold.

'This better be a good one' I thought tiredly, resting my head on the wall pipe, closely observing the rotating CCTV camera directly above my head.

'If it weren't for these blasted things, I'd go in there myself' I thought bitterly, as I observed the updated security layout of the perimeter.

'One security camera on right side of building…police car on opposite side of the street…simple' I smiled, analyzing the area again, looking for any possible mistakes.

Happy with my plan of action, I casually flicked through different songs on my shuffle while watching discreetly through my ebony fringe for my determined target of the week.

"Takes his bloody time," I hissed under my breath in anxious wait.

Suddenly, said target moved quickly through the doors and followed the flow leading close to the subway.

Grinning in anticipation, I stuck my shuffle in my light grey hoodie and began my practiced pursuit.

'Let see, next bus should leave 5 minutes from now. Guess I can do the rush approach tactic. Should provide enough disorientation to be in and out' I thought my plan through again for the 5th time today as I edged closer to the target.

Picking up the orderly pace of the crowd, I began a hasty jog towards the nearby subway entrance, watching him get closer and closer, until I faked a trip over my own feet and tackled him to the ground.

"Hey!" he grunted in a daze, dropping the groceries all over the floor as the flow of traffic circled us, not even stopping for a glance.

"Oh, I-I'm so sorry, I'm late for a meeting" I lied through my teeth, rushing as I collected the scattered groceries and replacing them in the tarnished plastic bag.

Well, most of them.

"Here, I'm so sorry" I apologized again before skittering off down the subway steps.

"Hey, wait a minute!" he called after me a few seconds later, making me quicken my pace as I stashed the stolen food safely in the inside of my hoodie.

I intersected the crowd and jogged to the other entrance, avoiding the officers on duty along the way as well as any small groups of people near cameras, and made it just in time for the bus to show up promptly.

Spending the rest of my loose change on a ticket, I tiredly paced down the aisle and dropped gently into a seat near the back row as I examined my loot with a Cheshire grin.

A large loaf of white bread and a small carton of orange juice lay out in my hands.

To New York, that was as basic as you could probably get.

To me, I was eating like royalty tonight.

I could've got more but it wasn't my fault; there wasn't anything else salvageable, plus I was running out of time. I hadn't realized he had delayed his schedule by a few minutes. Nearly ruined the entire operation.

In fact, everyone in the neighborhood was doing it: I don't know if it's bad luck or if they're trying to catch me out.

So much for community spirit.

Watching the world go by silently as the bus managed to glide through traffic, I got off a reasonable distance from the subway.

At least I think I did.

Walking down the streets of New York at night wasn't exactly safe, especially in certain territories owned by local thugs and gangs but I had everything planned out and ready when it came to avoiding those areas.

However, I hadn't stolen from the old man in ages, not since his reflexes nearly got me caught by some off-duty police sitting in a nearby café.

Never ran so fast in all my life.

So, unfortunately, I was still getting used to the bus route side of my plan, meaning getting off at the right stop was practically a lucky guess.

"Was it the second stop with the shortcut around the bulldog territory or was it…?" Mumbling to myself as I was held back, yet again, by my non-existent sense of direction.

Looking down each end of the road, I sighed in utter defeat.

It really wasn't my day.

"Stuff it, I'll find an alley for the night. Hopefully I won't have any visitors," I ordered myself as I made one more attempt at direction before going to Plan B.

Wandering down the street, I found a deserted alleyway with a few trashcans, a manhole and a ladder leading up the side of one of the buildings.

The streetlight barely illuminated the enclosed space.

Testing the ladder, the rust encrusting the wall hold for the ladder told me enough. Trying to use that would just make a lot of noise and way too much attention.

That just left the manhole as Plan B's plan B.

"At least it's cozy," I encouraged out loud as I pulled off my hoodie; laying it on the ground behind one of the bins as I huddled up and began stuffing down the bread like a makeshift picnic.

It lightened my mood considerably having something in my stomach and the orange juice washing it down definitely left me positive. However, I could tell the hunger pains have only simmered slightly.

This will be a _long _winter.

After the banquet, I wrapped the hoodie around like a blanket and curled up into a small ball, crossing my arms in an attempt to conserve heat.

I nestled against the corner of the bin as I settled for the night, making sure to blend with the scattered cardboard as well as possible.

Plugging my headphones in, I flicked through my shuffle until I landed on my ironic song list.

I settled nicely as I listened to the first on the list, "One Jump Ahead"

"Night Night" I mumbled tiredly as I drifted off.

It seemed only minutes later when I was shook awake.

Wide-eyed, I pulled out my headphones and scanned the area for a visitor before he loudly jumped in front of me.

I held my breath.

From the bare resonance of the lamppost in the street, the figure was illuminated with small but toned arms and what looked like a very large patterned backpack or coat.

Even from sitting down, the kid must've been no taller than 5' 3".

I internally calmed when I realized it was probably dressed up children from the neighborhood.

They do realize Halloween was last week, right?

A few seconds later, three more joined the first as they bickered loudly about something or other as they collectively lifted off the manhole cover.

"Did you see that skateboard, though!? Dude, that was my baby being ripped from me. It was my life in a nutshell," the smallest one wept miserably before being nudged in the side.

"You are a nutshell Mikey, now cram it. Want _another_ dog to attack you today?" the beefier one joked but was met with fire.

"I thought it was a cat! Seriously, how can a Chihuahua have_ that_ strong a bite" they bickered loudly before one of the others hit them both on the heads.

"Sorry, just wanted to know if you wanted an audience for this or are you gonna jump?" he said cynically.

'What the hell are they doing?' I watched curiously, slowly uncurling from my position but still took shallow breaths.

Mikey and beefy looked at each other before Mikey stuck his tongue at him and jumped down the hole.

"You little-" beefy quickly took after him, leaving the other two behind in hot pursuit, quietly closing the hole and allowed the silence to settle again.

I tried drifting off again once I know the event had passed but the nagging in the back of my head forced me awake.

"Since when did I worry about snotty kids? They're probably older than me anyway, so I shouldn't care. They'll probably just see a rat and leg it back" I reassured myself but it was a lost cause.

"I am not going down there. As much as I would _love _to be promoted to sewer rat, I'm happy with street rat," I argued with myself before sitting restlessly for a few more minutes.

Maturity sucks.

Sighing with agitation, I dusted off my hoodie before replacing it over me as I headed for the manhole.

"Those kids better be scared shitless or-Jesus!" I jolted with shock as the weight of the cover pulled on the tired muscles of my arms.

"Those kids on steroids?!" I huffed tiredly as I pushed the manhole to reveal a large enough hole for me to pass through.

The bomb of stench wafted up, almost making me gag.

Well, they've certainly got strong stomachs, that's for sure.

"I've officially reached. The lowest point. In my life" I stated dryly as I hesitantly lowered myself onto the ladder and began to climb down.

"Well…might as well get this off my mind" I shrugged, pulling out my shuffle again and selecting "Never smile at a crocodile"

'I really need better songs. Honestly, you'd think a 14 year old would have better taste in music. I must've done a favor by taking her, what? 5th iPod?' I defended myself but the smell and the reason I was down here still made me moan sadly as I began my journey of getting lost. Again.

Walking cautiously around the network of tunnels, barely enough light to see clearly, I took out one of the headphones incase they were bickering again.

Any clue to figure out where the hell they went.

"Breadcrumbs would've been phenomenal at this point," I thought aloud as I explored deeper into the tunnels, completely forgetting the way back as the darkness of the tunnels followed my heels.

"Well, the kids have buggered off…maybe I should-" I was cut short, as I didn't notice the tunnel slanted and I began sliding down at a fast rate.

I shrieked in panic before desperately trying to find a ledge or something to grab onto.

Anything to slow the fall.

Spiraling down the long connecting tunnel in complete alarm, I notice the tunnel began to curve, before seeing a cut off point at the end of the tunnel.

"Oh, fu-aaaaaaaaah!" My shriek probably echoed throughout the entire network as I barely connected with the opposite tunnel, but was still secure.

It took a moment before a relieved laugh built up in my chest, bellowing in childish glee as the tunnel slowly leveled off at a large, lit clearing.

I skidded to a stop before landing face first on the ground but I still giggled in victory, rolling onto my back and fist pumping the air as my other hand held my sore face.

"That. Was worth it" I grinned, closing my eyes as my heart lowered to a normal rate before I opened them to see four heads peering down.

I was stunned for a few moments as we basically did a staring contest.

Eventually, the one I think was Mikey peered closer at my face.

"Is she dead?" emphasizing his question by poking my cheek.

"Hi" I smiled, still surprisingly giddy from the ride as I practically jumped back on my feet, startling him.

"Jesus, dude, what's got you hyped?" he held a hand to his startled heart as his brother snickered.

"Did you guys not do that ride?" I grinned ecstatically like an idiot but I didn't care at that moment.

"How do you think we got here?" one of them said dryly.

That killed the buzz.

Sighing, I looked at them individually: the 'backpacks' turned out to be large shells as the kids were each dressed up as turtles.

Fair enough.

A tall but lanky one with an olive green costume and light brown eyes eyed me curiously but from his body language, I could tell he was the shy one of the group. His large brown eyes made him look so cute, though.

Next was a slightly smaller but bulkier one with a sea green costume and very deep brown eyes. He was the one that killed my buzz.

I'm not happy about that.

Next came beefy, with a dark forest green costume and what seemed to be a permanent scowl; his eyes were almost black but flecks of brown still shone through.

'Hmm, light at the end of tunnel. Even if the tunnel is still likely to punch your face in' I thought with a small smirk.

Finally, Mikey, the smallest one with a pale pine green costume of and had the lightest brown eyes with small green flecks.

He must be the fun one.

Oh right, time to lecture.

"Well, there better be a way out of here. It's dangerous down here for kids like you. Even if you're probably older than me, that's beside the point. Let's hope your parents are oblivious when I bring you back, eh?"

If not, nothing wrong in asking for payment is there?

I crossed my arms, waiting for a response, as they gave me the most incredulous looks I've ever seen. Well, generally, the people who look at me are usually angry but it comes with the territory.

"What? I'm serious you know" I defended myself, trying to regain control as well as shield from their bombarding judgment.

Last time I give a crap about some kids, that's for sure.

"You're worried that –we –" Buzz killer pointed between themselves.

"Will be in danger down – here?" He finished, pointing to the ground.

"Yes" I clarified, looking at them like they're the crazy ones.

They stood silently; looking at each other with a spreading grin, before they slowly backed off from me, and then finally began running off.

"Hey! Don't leave me here!" I yelled as I began my chase.

Why are children so difficult?

* * *

><p>"Is she following us?" Raph yelled from in front as I dared a glance back at our guest.<p>

Her slender legs battered against the tunnel as she propelled her body forward ahead of her legs. Hopefully, she realized this and wouldn't suddenly stop.

Dad probably wouldn't be too happy with an injured human at our door.

Sensing my stare, she sent her death glare ahead of her.

"Yep, she's still here" I grinned excitedly, facing forward as we bound off the different sharp corners and bends; our guest following close behind, kicking off the walls when she had too much momentum.

"Alright guys, make sure we stay in her sight. If she lags behind, Mikey, slow down or trip or something" I shrugged, not really caring what he did as long as she didn't give up the chase.

'Come on, only a little longer' I thought in encouragement.

"Why me and not bowling ball over there? Make him do it" Mikey gave a toothy smile over his shoulder at Raph.

"Only if you're the pins, smart mouth" he shot daggers as Mikey just laughed it off, his giddiness infecting the rest of us as the tunnel began to grow brighter.

"Knock it off you two – how long 'till home, Donnie?" I asked quickly, watching him in earnest as he mentally calculated the answer.

"Should be right-" we collided with Raph and Mikey, yelping as we fell into a dog pile at the bottom of the clearing.

"Now" he finished, weakly using Raph's head as support, despite loud protesting from said head.

Footsteps came closer to us as her worried expression peered over the end of the tunnel, her brown hair dangling down towards us like a safety line out of arms reach.

The look quickly wiped off her face when she saw we were alive still.

"You – are so dead" she threatened before grinning evilly, like Mikey before he steals the last pizza slice without us knowing.

Suddenly, she did a surprisingly graceful swan dive before landing flat on top of us, angling her body so she made a safe landing on top of Donnie, who cringed as the weight pressing him harder on top of an irritated Raph.

Immediately, a course of pained groans echoed from Mikey from the weight of his brothers and the girl as well as the small bruise he'll probably get out of this dog pile.

Poor Mikey.

* * *

><p>Smiling victoriously, I gently but casually hopped off the pile and flopped onto the floor next to them, completely tired out.<p>

'I'm really out of shape, that was only a 2 minute run at most' I thought dejectedly as I tried to bring my breathing rate to its normal, quiet self.

"You guys ***pant***better know the bloody way out" I grinned tiredly, not really caring at this point.

Of course, starving down here isn't exactly on the top of my to-do list but I'm too poor to be picky.

Slowly, the pile dissolved into the individuals as I finally took in where I was.

Lost.

Completely – and utterly – lost.

Again.

Moaning, I pushed myself from the ground to a sitting position before facing the others.

"Why the hell did you guys run?" I asked curiously, only now questioning why the hell they were down here in the first place.

"We got you here to prove a point to our father" Buzz killer shrugged.

"Once he sees your reaction, he's bound to ease up on the 'never go topside' rule" Olive theorized as I look at them to see any signs that they were lying.

There were none.

"Your father forces you to stay down here in the sewers," I asked in pity, suddenly having the mind to take them back out. What kind of father forces their kids to live down here?

I'm poor and even I wouldn't do that to my kids!

"He says it's for our protection, that people won't understand us" Mikey shrugged sadly, slowly setting off my anger.

'Now I'm definitely giving him a piece of my mind' snarling internally so I didn't alarm them.

"Ok…before we carry on…what the hell are your guys names?" before pointing at the small one.

"You're Mikey" He smiled as he fake bowed.

"Michelangelo – lady killer. But Mikey works" he grinned, making me laugh and putting a damper on my anger for now.

"Bowling ball next to me is Raphael, or Raph – Ow!" he rubbed his head before glaring at his brother.

"Ignore him, it's better that way" He grinned, wrapping his arm round Mikey's head, pulling him into a headlock.

"It's because people can't stand when they see 'The Mikester' " Mikey smiled proudly, earning an eye roll from bowlin – I mean, Raph.

"Our unofficial leader here is Leonardo, or Leo" 'The Mikester' nodded with a smile.

"He wishes" Raph mumbled but if anyone heard him, they didn't show it.

"You the goody two-shoes of the group?" I chirped up, making the others snigger as Leo faintly blushed.

"You have no idea," Mikey laughed before Leo's commanding glare silenced him to a giggle.

"Last but not least, you've got Donatello, or Donnie. He is literally the internet search bar" Donnie grinned proudly, which made his entire face light up as he did a small wave. He had one of his middle teeth missing, leaving a small black gap in his smile.

I had to restrain myself from hugging him, he looked so much like an animal plushy, it was ridiculous.

'Aww, he's so adorable' I thought before returning the wave with a warm smile while going over each of the names in my head.

"Wow, you have…very posh parents" I smiled incredulously, wondering how the hell a dude living in the sewer, forcing his children to _stay_ in the sewer, would name his children after renaissance painters.

The fact that I know the names of renaissance painters but still didn't know where the local bus station was is still a mystery.

"Why, what's your name?" Raph piped up, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Do you want my 'official' name or my real name?" I asked; they just shrugged.

"Well, 'officially', my names is Leandra or Lea – you can thank star wars for that nickname" I grinned half-heartedly.

"As for my real name…people just call me yo-yo" I shrugged.

"Why yo-yo?" Donnie asked like it was the weirdest thing he ever heard.

"Because no matter how far you throw me away, I drag my ass back," I grinned.

"Mainly because my string ends up getting tangled to you," I joked tiredly.

I could tell they didn't know what to make of me since they kept giving each other weird looks.

"I have prepared for the appearance and corresponding punishment of four, yet I sense five"

Startled, I whirled around the see the largest rat _ever_ walk towards us with a warped walking stick in tow.

"You…you're…." my mouth failed to function as I looked between the rat and the kids.

"Dad, it's alright. She's not afraid of us" Mikey grinned like it was the best news he heard all week.

"Does she know who you are?" at the silent reply he continued, his voice echoing years of experience…from a talking rat.

"From what I heard from the…scuffle…she probably believes you're children" he spoke matter-of-factly, eyeing me with great care.

"If…if they aren't kids…what are they?" I asked politely as I could manage.

"Turtles" Mikey grinned proudly but when seeing my face it slowly diminished.

I sat still for a few minutes before slowly pushing myself up and walking towards the group.

They didn't move as I neared Leo, leaning close as I peered at all his facial features.

He watched cautiously as his eyes never left my face, but on closer inspection, I probably should have guessed that their 'costume' was just a _little too realistic_.

Again, know renaissance painters but cant tell a turtle and a costume apart.

Backing off calmly, I headed towards the rat.

"Yep, they're talking turtles" I confirmed as my brain restarted.

"You're a talking rat," I pointed at said rat.

"You're…a father…to the talking turtles" I slowly processed.

"And…I think I need a sit down" I stoically walked past the 'father' as I headed towards what looked like a chair.

Sitting down, I took deep breaths as cradled my head.

The others watched from the doorway before Mikey interrupted the peace.

"I think I saw her brain implode" earning an eye roll from Raph.

"She just couldn't handle it," he explained but noticing the look on Mikey's face, he panicked.

"Mike, I didn't mean-"

"And that - is why I'm the lady-killer" he swaggered past the group as he headed towards the kitchen, following his nose to the deep pan cheese pizza that drifted its scent throughout the circular stone room.

Raph could only face palm.

"I hate you" Raph mumbled.

* * *

><p>"So…what do we do?" Donnie peaked from behind the group, eyeing the woman like a ticking time bomb.<p>

Of course, being Donnie, that only peaked his interest.

"Now…we wait," Splinter remarked before heading back to the station car, his staff the only noise uttered as each hit clicked against the hard stone floor while his tail slithered behind him.

"Well, that went well" Raph muttered before heading to join Mikey in the kitchen where seconds later, yelling soon ensued.

Something about Lea, pizza and dibs.

"How old do you think she is?" Donnie muttered next to me, eyes never leaving her form.

"No idea, why?" I asked curiously. I hated talking about the girl like this, but it seemed Donnie found a new project.

What it was exactly was anybody's guess.

"Her interactions as well as her physical features imply she hasn't physically developed yet, however her behavioral patterns suggest a mentally matured individual," he rambled off.

At my blank and tired look, he reiterated.

"She doesn't look like she's hit her teens yet" he simplified.

"Who knows? Might be the same age as us" I shrugged before Donnie headed off to his 'Computer Corner'. He was probably itching to get back onto the new thingamajig that someone dropped down here.

I began studying the woman without realizing: her long brown hair was pulled loosely into a ponytail with only a small fringe framing her face; she wore a faded grey hoodie which looked two sizes too big for her and a pair of torn, navy blue jeans with thick black boots covering the hem.

Dirt marks blotching her face and clothes made her look rugged beyond hell.

Walking towards her, I grabbed a blanket from the shelf and dropped it on her lap.

She looked up, obviously confused.

"It gets cold down here pretty easily" I shrugged; slightly unnerved by the odd look she was giving me. She managed a thank you before slowly wrapping herself in said blanket.

I would've struck up a conversation before a smash in the kitchen, followed by louder bickering, broke my concentration.

"Welcome to the sewers" I nodded in apology before jogging into the kitchen.

"Ok, what – Mikey, how the shell did you break the toaster again?"

* * *

><p>Watching Leo leave, I slowly began to grip onto reality here, even if the thought of a talking rat fathering talking turtles grew a headache.<p>

Gripping the blanket with gratitude, I nestled into the chair, happy that I was finally able to get a good night sleep in such a warm place, even if the bickering distracted me with a small laugh.

The smell wasn't even that bad.


	2. Brand New Day

"Is she awake?"

"Shh! Idiot, she'll hear you"

"Doubt it, I'm a sneaky snake"

"Shut up, Mikey"

"Shut up, she'll hear you!"

"She'll hear us, be quiet!"

Groaning, I slid open one eye to focus on four turtles crowding a small TV, while having all eyes focus on me.

Like they were _actually _trying to be silent.

"It's not my fault she fell asleep on the chair," Leo whispered harshly.

"You gave her the blanket!" Raph retorted, pushing him into Don.

The whispered bickering carried on until I couldn't take it anymore, finally sitting up with an angry glare.

They carried on.

"I'm not joking, this is the last episode of LOST and I'm not missing it!" Mikey whispered yelling, hugging the remote while blocking Raph.

"I am not missing the football game today!" his attempts at grabbing the remote only angered him more, making his bickering louder.

Sighing, I stretched the kinks out of my stiff muscles and slowly rose from the chair.

"I thank you, young one" I turned to face the rat from before. The surprise from the whole situation was slowly ebbing away but a small part at the back of my brain kept telling me the orange juice was spiked.

"For what?" I asked in confusion, only now realizing what he said.

"They have the same fight every morning, except a lot louder" he sighed wearily before smiling at me. He slid into the armchair next to me, watching his sons with mirth.

He used his tail to pull the small brown table away from the bickering brothers.

"My apologies for the late introduction, my name is Splinter" he looked at me with a smile as I watched him nervously.

"I'm Leandra" I replied awkwardly.

"I heard the conversation yesterday. Forgive me, but I don't feel comfortable calling you 'yo-yo', was it?" he conversed.

"I understand. People usually call me that to annoy me anyway, like a pet name" I smiled curtly before turning to the kitchen.

"Can I?" I asked timidly, motioning to the room.

"Of course, my dear. Our food is limited but I can tell you're starving" as if on cue, my stomach rumble, making my face heat up.

"Thank you" I managed a casual smile as I set about searching the kitchen.

Outdated appliances littered the counter tops and small dining table as I looked in awe. I mean, sure there was the typical dirt and grime you could only find by living in a sewer but despite it all, it actually looked cleaner than the _streets_.

And we actually clean those.

As for the appliances, everything from a fridge to a microwave to...is that a coffee machine?

'You can _find_ this stuff down here. The sewers must be loaded with junk' I thought in shock as I slowly pulled the fridge door open and peeked as if something might jump out.

Surprisingly, the little light flashed on and various food items littered the shelves.

'How the hell do they pay for this?' I thought curiously. Something tells me they're not the thieving type.

Managing to find a slice of cold pizza, I decided to risk it and stuck it in what I hoped was a microwave.

After a few minutes, I managed to find a plate in one of the cupboards and sat down at the table.

'First time I could enjoy breakfast' I thought with childish glee before my instincts kicked it and the glee was crushed.

"Don't go soft on me, Lea. The guys are safe and sound so the second they're ready, head back home and figure out a way to repay them" I scolded myself, biting down on the pizza with perhaps a little too much force.

You know the part of the dream, where you're having the time of your life and nothing could be better?

I'm at the part where I wake up.

I have had enough relationships starting from my family to my 'friends' to my 'partners' to know that everyone is a player in a twisted game of, well, monopoly I guess. Everyone has a stake in something and won't think twice about taking everything you 'owe'.

They'd probably steal the player counter if they could.

Hell, even if they don't realize they're players, it's best to just pay your debts and earn back your money some other way.

Finishing off the pizza quickly (it actually wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be) I tested the sink to see if it worked and washed the plate.

…What, a thief can't have manners?

Cleaning up my mess, I walked back into the room; I wasn't surprised.

They were still arguing.

"Every morning?" I asked Splinter in genuine pity.

"Every morning" He groaned, holding his face with his hand.

"Have they eaten?" I asked, planning out an idea since their bickering was bringing back the night's headache, and that was the last thing I needed.

"I don't believe so" he replied, catching on to my idea.

"Let's see…. HEY!" I yelled across the chamber, gaining the attention of the turtles.

"You guys going to get breakfast or what?" I lowered my voice before watching them look between the chair to me to the kitchen.

"She teleported…how she do that!" Mikey grinned.

"She walked, genius" Raph huffed before heading towards the kitchen with his brothers closely following.

'Someone's got their pants in a twist' I joked with myself before my mind wandered to if they even _wore _pants…or even clothes…actually, are they naked?

I mean, they have the shell, but…I'm just going to stop thinking.

'Thank god I didn't say that out loud' I thought embarrassed as I examined the room to distract myself.

The brick ceiling was a high, circular build with a small wooden staircase to the side leading to the upper level, where I guess their rooms were. You could tell the staircase was handmade but it still looked fairly sturdy.

Everything else that wasn't the kitchen or the bedrooms (and hopefully the bathrooms) were cramped in the one room with the TV/sitting area in the middle followed by Don's computer corner to the side near the kitchen and what looked like a small storage area to the back of the room, behind the staircase.

An old, rundown station car was cramped in the corner of the room near the entrance.

A few thick wires were scattered around the floor as well as an old, worn red rug, which covered the majority of the concrete floor.

Talk about 'Don't judge a book by its cover'

"Wow, for a sewer, you seem to have it all" I smiled casually, watching to make sure I hadn't offended the man...rat…Splinter.

"You'd be surprised what is left in the sewers" he returned the smile as he reclined into his chair.

"I trust you are coming to terms with the situation?" Splinter called over, his eyes closed in peace.

"You could say that" I laughed weakly before returning to cuddling into the blanket.

'Actually, how do they get electricity, or cable for the TV? Do they steal cable?' my mind wondered down the long road of questions where I eventually gave up and just let my imagination fill in the blanks.

I could grow to love it here but I knew not to overstay an invitation.

Eventually, everyone has to go sometime.

"They have wanted for years to be a part of your people and culture. Your reaction to them brought hope" he answered the silent question hanging in the air.

Nodding to myself, I silently pitied them; I sort of understood being the outcast in the middle of a city. Then again comparing the 'plight' of a thief to the plight of mutant turtles didn't seem exactly fair.

Mine was my choice; theirs was forced.

"My sons can show you the way out when you're ready, your family must be worried"

I laughed humorlessly.

"My family believe I died 4 years ago" I grinned, slightly unnerving the aged mutant.

"How old are you, my dear?" he asked curiously, trying to piece together the puzzle that was my life. Easy considering it was four blocks.

"Let's see…mum kicked me out on my 7th birthday…dad sent me a card for my 9th…funeral was two weeks later…" I mumbled in thought before the answer popped into my head.

"13" My smile didn't reach my eyes, which didn't settle the worried stare he was sending me.

"Why?" was the only way he could reply.

"They had their perfect child on my 7th birthday; my younger sister, Abigail. She was…beautiful" I sighed at the memory. It was one of my better ones.

"She had that gleam in her eye that just made you think everything was perfect…they decided there was no room in that picture for me, and so they sent me out. The rest of the family didn't know and so still sent presents and cards for me. That's when they decided to plan the funeral."

He watched me with guarded eyes but I didn't break.

"I honestly don't care. In fact, it taught me self-support and self-confidence. I thank them for that. Everyone leaves the nest sometime, right?" I encouraged, only now noticing the silence coming from the kitchen.

"Tell me, how do you support yourself?" he asked, intrigued.

"Steal and hide in dark alleys, how else?" I shrugged. Waiting patiently, I realized he wanted me to elaborate.

Well, might as well go to detail. What's he going to do, call the police?

"I have a plan or timetable about the locals lives and their habits, like what time they get food, when they leave the house…things like that" I motioned my hands in random signs as I continued.

"I base my…talents…along those times in order to keep myself fed and I drop myself off in a nice sheltered alleyway near 5th avenue, but I can usually make due with any alleyway as long as I have escape routes. You steal from the locals long enough and suddenly they want you gone" I joked

No humor reached his eyes, only pity.

"I see, you are quite resourceful" he tried complimenting but I could tell he was holding back a lecture.

"I don't like it either but I'm living, aren't I? Morality just makes you starve" I shrugged indifferently but my tone still held a defensive stance.

A few moments later, I saw the turtles race towards the TV and the remote.

"LOST is on in five minutes!" Mikey yelled before being shoved by Raph.

"My game is already on!" he retorted before they both tackled the table, flipping it under their weight and sending the remote soaring through the air and into Donnie's hands.

It took me a few seconds to catch up with what the hell happened.

Raph and Mikey froze as they watched Donnie slowly realize what was in his hands.

"Donnie…listen, buddy" Mikey slowly walked towards him with Raph at his heels.

"You don't want to do this" they shook their heads before they were stricken with horror as Donnie grinned.

"Who wants to watch 'The Gadget Show'" he smiled as they both cried in misery.

"Goddamn you, God, why!" Mikey wailed, hugging Raph.

I actually gave a genuine laugh as I watched their antics; surprised they hadn't tackled Don to the ground yet.

They were not happy.

"Do _you _want to watch it?" Raph growled, making me giggle.

"I kinda like that show. What's the saying 'The guest is always right'?"

I grinned before nodding at Donnie who rushed to turn the TV on with childish glee.

'You're lucky you look so cute there, Donnie. I hate this goddamn show' I moaned internally before laughing more at the brother's misery.

"So worth it" I smiled as I watched them flop onto the couch in pain.

"You've made yourself comfortable" Smiling, I turned to see Leo's grin at his brothers before turning to me.

The comment unsettled me but I quickly brushed it off.

"What can I say, you guys are growing on me" Shrugging in amusement, he placed himself on the floor next to my chair, stretching out his legs towards the TV.

"So, you actually like this show?" he raised his eyebrow.

"Not really but don't tell them" I whispered with an impish smile as they sulked on the couch.

I would've asked Leo why they didn't just take the remote but he beat me to it.

"We made a deal that whoever grabbed the remote first chose the show. Can't go back on a deal" he leaned against my chair as we tried figuring out what the hell we were watching.

"So, you're really not that bothered by us?" he asked, almost as if I was lying to myself.

"The way you guys are talking about it, you're acting as if I was going to come at you with a chainsaw" I joked but stopped when I saw his serious face.

"Well, that is what we were expecting" he shrugged.

Geez, they really brought down the paranoia on this place.

"Well, I can't speak for everyone, but when you're in my line of work, you make do with what you got. That includes who your friends are. Besides, you're the first family that hasn't tried to get me arrested or beaten up yet"

Shrugging, we lapsed into comfortable silence while watching Donnie's devoted focus to the show and the moaning couple entertaining themselves by arm wrestling.

"Best 2 out of three" Mikey glared in determination as Raph just put out his hand.

"Your on"

"Well then, to friends" Interrupting the show, I turned to Leo as he raised his fist in the air.

"To friends" I grinned as we fist pumped. I turned back to see Raph glance towards us before focusing on his match with Mikey.

We sat there in peace, a sight Splinter loved dearly but also pained him.

'I hope she is as honorable as she seems and won't reveal our home. Unfortunately, you can never trust a thief'

Upon seeing the fist pump, the thought vanished as quickly as it came.

'She won't be the last of her people. How can I protect my sons from an entire world?' Sighing internally, he chose to enjoy the sights before him and smile, knowing that a bond had been established between Leandra and his sons.

'It will be intriguing to watch it grow. A real life soap opera' He laughed to himself as he relaxed; he himself tried to figure out what was on the TV.

* * *

><p>"Do you have to leave so soon?" Mikey sighed sadly, the others silently following as they guided me towards the exit.<p>

"You're only upset because you didn't get that rematch on Mario Kart" I grinned.

"Beginner's luck" he waved it off as we continued walking down the tunnel.

"How did you even know how to play that?" he asked, still trying to make me 'confess' to cheating.

"They do have demos in game shops, y'know. I don't just loiter everywhere in my free time" I retorted.

Of course, I didn't tell him how I played it round one of my neighbor's houses while they went on holiday for the weekend, but I didn't need to mention that.

"Will you visit again?" Donnie asked hopefully. Wonder if it's because I was the reason he got the TV today.

It was still worth it for Raph's pout face.

"Sure, why not? It'll be fun knowing I'm not crazy" Shrugging happily, I hopped onto the ladder and pulled myself up towards topside.

Grabbing Raph's hand, he holstered me out of the hole and onto the ground.

"Cheers" he nodded before we huddled behind the trashcans.

"Well, I guess I'll see ya guys later"

"You know where we are" Leo smiled as I said my goodbyes to each of them before wandering off into the moonlight and began my long trek home.

'How long did I stay under?' I thought as I crossed my arms in reaction to the cold wind.

Didn't think I'd actually miss the sewers.

Hearing thunder, I looked up to see dark clouds looming overhead.

Brilliant.

Pulling my hoodie over my face, I jogged towards the main street as I tried planning my route in my head, deciding to use the various street signs as a makeshift breadcrumb trail while I prayed I'd miss the storm.

'Hope that extra layer of cloth I added to the 'roof' holds out' I hoped mentally as I began the walk home.

Little did I know my new friends were the 'follow you home' type.

* * *

><p>"Raph, what are you doing?" I whispered angrily, afraid my voice would echo around the quiet neighborhood and be heard by Lea.<p>

"Looking out for the family, Leo, like _you _should be doing," he whispered back, glaring before jumping over the rooftops, keeping a steady eye on Leandra.

"She's not going to tell anyone" Donnie tried to persuade him but it was met with a growl.

"How do you know? She lets you watch TV and suddenly she all clear?" he argued before turning to me.

"-And I've seen how you two were acting earlier. One fist pump and you're all buddy-buddy," he jabbed my chest lightly before continuing his pursuit.

Normally, I would've put off his anger as him 'expressing himself', as father called it, however I could at least admit he had a reason this time. Sort of.

Splinter explained while Lea slept on the chair, after giving us a long lecture about the danger of going topside without protection, that we must be very careful when dealing with our human neighbors.

'Not all can be trusted, however that does not mean that they are all guilty. A famous saying is 'Don't paint everyone with the same brush' '

His words rang in my ears as I immediately realized that Raph only caught on to the first part. 'Don't trust anyone' was probably the way he remembered the conversation.

Of course, I was cautious with Lea but she didn't give any reason not to trust her.

"You saw how she was acting, bro. She's friendly. Except on Mario" he mumbled the last part to himself shamefully. For once, I agreed with him.

"There is such a thing as acting, _bro_" he cut the conversation as she turned into another street.

"Dude, chill out. You're like me when I realized my pizza was missing this morning" before Mikey pointed an accusing finger at all of us.

"I will not forget that betrayal" making us all roll our eyes.

"Save it Mikey, we didn't eat it"

"I don't believe her story either," he added casually, ignoring Mikey and the rest of us as he carried on following her.

"Why would she make that up, Raph?" I sighed in irritation.

"What parents would do that? That stuff's only on TV, real families don't abandon each other" he jogged off as he watched her turn into an alleyway.

"Maybe not ours but we can't say the same for theirs" I tried reasoning but it fell on deaf ears.

"She's the first human we've technically met, Raph. Give her a break" Donnie chided before we all looked over the edge to see the alley was a dead end.

"Is this where she lives?" Mikey said in shock.

"Probably trying to do a sneak attack down the manhole of somethin' " before I hit him over the head.

"Knock it off, Raph" I glared before I began climbing down.

"Where are you going?!" Raph hissed

"To apologise!" I hissed back before sliding down the rest of the way.

The alley was covered with very thick cloth, as the small candles inside glowed brightly through the gap of the hanging doorway cloth.

Poking my head through the door, I quickly took in how cramped everything was. It made me miss the emptiness of the sewers, even though we've only been gone 5 minutes.

A small section of multi-colored blankets were at the back, next to it a small locked chest. A cardboard box and small ones acted as tables and chair around the small shelter, where Leandra sat reading a book.

A faint smile lit up her face as she read through the page before she probably felt my eyes on her and looked up. Her face twisted into shock before confusion and finally nervousness at the sight of me.

"What the hell are you doing out here? You could be seen!" She pulled me quickly behind the makeshift fur wall and gently sat me on one of the cardboard boxes.

They were actually quite sturdy, but I still held up most of my weight to be safe.

"What did you need?" She asked, placing a mark in her book and setting it away.

"I believe Raph should explain," I said, my previous irritation beginning to come back.

Speak of the devil.

"Well…maybe she wasn't lying about the house…" he mumbled to himself but refused to apologize as he stood in the back corner of the space.

"My brother thought you were going to try and expose us," I explained simply, her face showed understanding but a small trace of hurt and anger flicker across her eyes.

"What exactly would I gain from that, Raph?" She asked him but he refused to speak.

"Raph, the entire neighborhood either wants me gone, dead or both. You think I'd rat you guys out to them; you're the only people that are actually _nice_ to me y'know" She said cynically but restrained herself.

"Plus, I'm not exactly going to walk in a police station, a thief they could possibly recognize, and say I found the location of 5' 3" teenage mutant turtles hiding in the sewers with a old man-rat" she finished, wincing at how crazy that sounded even to me.

At the lack of loud yelling, Mikey and Don joined us, essentially cramping up the entire place.

"It's…cozy" Donnie tried to compliment the place but obviously came up short.

"Thanks for trying, Donnie. It's a dump, but it's _my _dump" she spoke proudly but was met with only our stares.

"Dude, I thought the sewer was cold" Mikey shivered, huddling close to the others.

"You guys should head back, it's not good for you to be out this long," she lectured nervously.

"Plus, should any of my people show up, I don't want them having a heart attack on my doorstep" she explained, peeking through the door, making sure there was no one listening probably.

"Thanks, mom" Raph uttered before I elbowed him, earning a glare.

"You sure you're okay?" Mikey piped up.

"I'll make do" she smiled sadly, but her look slightly hardened at our pity.

Suddenly it started to rain, heavily. I watched nervously as the cloth above us began to get weighed down.

"Like I said, I'll make do" she shrugged, obviously used to it.

I exchanged looks with my brothers: Mikey and Donnie looked excited while Raph gave me a solid glare as he followed my thoughts.

"Would you like to stay with us?" I asked, surprising her.

"Oh, you don't have to do that, it's fine" she waved it off before thunder echoed loudly as we watched water run down the sides.

"It's supposed to do that" she smiled as the cloth above us made a noise.

"That's normal" she finished weakly before the cloth tore a bit as a bucket load of water dropped on top of her heard, soaking her to the bone as she yelped at the sudden cold.

Mikey and Raph snickered before I glared them into silence.

"Come on, let's head back" as I grabbed her by the elbow and gently pulled her towards the ladder.

"Hey, I said I'm fine!" I felt her rip her arm from me as I turned to face the harshest glare I've seen.

This is coming from the brother of Raph, who probably _invented_ it.

'Where the shell did that come from?' I thought in complete shock, wandering how the girl who was all smiles a minute ago look at us like strangers or hostiles.

The atmosphere quickly became thick with tension as she stared at each of us like a cornered cat.

"You're freezing and soaked, I'm trying to help you here" I reasoned with her but she was having none of it.

"I've done it before, I can do it again. I'm not your problem," she actually growled as she tried to fix the hole in the roof, her movements shaking due to the sudden cold in the shelter.

It was only then that I realized that it wasn't anger in her glare; it was fear.

"If she doesn't want our help, leave her"

"Not now, Raph"

"Raph's right. Why don't you worry about yourselves and getting home without being seen" she hissed, her attempt at the hole frustrating her more.

"This is pitiful" Mikey whispered with a sigh from Donnie as I gave up watching and fixed the hole myself, only adding fuel to the fire.

"Look, I'm fine by myself"

"I didn't say you weren't but nothing is wrong with accepting help" I glared right back at her.

"Of course there is! I'm not a charity case, Leo. I have to prove that I can support myself"

"Is that why you steal from others?" Her eyes widen before becoming blank as she looked away.

'Brilliant, she's got Raph's temper _and _his pride' I thought bitterly but shoved it aside.

She wasn't Raph, just a lonely girl who really needs some help right now.

"Come on, we can argue this later. Once the rain lets off, you can head back here, if you want" I finished as I pushed her towards the ladder again.

She relented; visibly relaxed as each step she took looked like she was preparing to sprint at the first sign of trouble.

The rain brought a new level of cold but I brushed it off, instead helping Lea onto the ladder, followed by the others and me.

"We've upgraded to sleepovers now" Raph mumbled behind me as I rolled my eyes.

His moaning rivaled Mikey.

* * *

><p>"Ah, I see the journey did not go as planned" Splinter turned away from currently popular soap opera 'The Reckless' to see me cuddling my shaking body and leaning on Mikey as a source of heat, despite his constant protests.<p>

"We're having a slumber party," Raph grumbled, heading straight for the kitchen.

Sighing, he pushed himself off the chair and walked towards us.

"You're perished, my girl. Michelangelo, go find some towels for our guest" Mikey saluted as he went on his search, leaving me to gravitate towards Donnie and Leo for warmth.

"Donatello, see if there are any clothes around here. Check the storage area" Donnie headed straight away, leaving me to grip on to Leo.

'God, I must look like a wreck' I shivered uncontrollably. I knew I should've added another extra blanket to the roof.

"What happened?" Splinter asked sternly, eyes never leaving Leo despite my non-too-quiet whimpering.

"Raph was suspicious, so he-"

"Oh, it's _my_ fault that I wanted to protect our family" Raph called from the kitchen door, glaring full force at Leo who tensed under my hands.

"We had no reason to doubt her," Leo argued, still managing to keep a calm face.

"No reason? She's a stranger we've known for one day! " He yelled back.

"Enough, Raphael!" the sharp tone of his father silenced him.

"If we approach the humans with suspicion in our hearts and doubt in our minds, we will never know peace" he tried explaining but Raph wasn't having it.

"We're mutants to them, we always will be" Raph tried to show his point of view but it was being cut down every second.

"You said this morning-"

"Don't twist my words. I stated to use caution when dealing with humans but Leandra has yet to provide any reason to doubt her intentions"

Once he realised Raph wouldn't react, he took on a softer tone.

"Not all will be against us, my son. If there's one thing we can trust in the humans, it's that they will not all agree on one ideal. Some will side with us; equally some will side against us. But if we deny them all and close our minds, we will have _no one_" his age and experience knitted within his speech as Raph's anger quickly diminish, but the embers of the flame still burned.

"Whatever" his pride too thickheaded, he swallowed down the defeat for now and quietly walked away.

"I apologize" he finally turned to me.

"I don't blame him. At least you guys watch each others backs, that's something to be proud of" I shrugged but I was still tense from the argument. He was only 12, but Raph looked like a turtle tank already, and I really didn't need that pent-up aggression aimed at me.

I've should've stayed in the alley.

"Raphael is passionate, an enduring quality, however it is also a weakness. But enough of that. Donatello, any clothes?" Splinter called as Don walked back empty handed.

"Nothing. Sorry, Lea" he shrugged apologetically as Mikey came back with towels.

"Guess that's me to the rescue, then" Mikey grinned chucking me the towels as I nodded with gratitude.

"Do you guys have a bathroom?" I asked, hoping they had hygiene and didn't just…go.

"Over here" Leo motioned for me to follow as he pointed towards a door at the back of the room.

"Cheers, Leo" I thanked as I quickly headed inside.

"Of course, the clean room of the sewer house" I stared incredulously as the small bathroom actually looked recently cleaned.

I didn't know if I should be impressed by their hygiene standards while living in a sewer or disturbed that this bathroom is actually cleaner than the ones in the neighbour's houses.

Dumping the towels on the counter, I examined myself in the mirror.

My hair clung to my face and shoulders as the oversized jumper hung heavily off my body.

Pulling it off, I was surprised to see my dark red tank top was actually pretty dry compared to my other stuff; the same with my socks as I pulled off my heavy boots.

Bringing my hair behind me, I tied it my one of my hairbands around my wrist, forming a loose ponytail that hung to just below my shoulders.

Folding my jumper, I tried hopelessly to dry off my jeans as well as my hair and face.

Facing the lost cause, I wrapped the towel around my hips so at least I didn't soak anything when I sat down.

On the bright side, the rain managed to wash off most of the dirt from my face so I used the rest of the towels to make myself presentable before heading out with my boots and hoodie.

"Do you know where I can dump these?" I asked Splinter as the turtles began taking up the couch and seats.

"Just leave them by the entrance" he pointed at the nearby stand as I dropped my stuff off and sat on the floor watching 'The Reckless'.

"Oo, is this the episode where Victor visits the hospital?" I conversed with Splinter who smiled happily.

"Wait, you watch this?" Mikey asked like I'd grown a second head.

"It's always on the TVs in the electronic store across the street. I've technically grown up with it," I chirped, swinging my legs to and fro as I got lost in the show.

"Victor's an ass but I love him" I stated randomly, earning a quick glance from Splinter.

"I can't believe they're replacing Adam" that one statement lead to about a half hour 'discussion' about this one character.

"The new actor is going to be terrible"

"He hasn't even began his role yet"

"He's auditioned"

"That's not the same"

"It is in my books. No one can replace Michael"

"He technically hasn't been replaced yet"

"Same difference!"

When it eventually died down, we turned to see all the turtles staring at us.

"Now _that_ was pitiful"


	3. Sign of Affection

That mini argument was the last thing I remembered when I woke up this morning under a blanket I didn't remember getting; on top of a couch I didn't remember getting _to_; under a circular ceiling which is getting a _little too _familiar for my taste.

Moaning groggily, I slowly sat up from my awkward position on the couch, only to realize that I'd passed out for a good couple of hours.

That's if the thin black arrows on the small, dented clock barely hanging on the wall was anything to go by.

'Well, I'd say I'm overstaying my welcome but I think that issue flew out of the sewers hours ago' I thought, suddenly feeling exhausted, as I was finally able to focus on my surroundings.

I eventually noticed it was only 3 in the morning.

…Wait.

"Well, better now than never i guess" I mumbled as I managed to push myself off the couch without falling forward onto my face.

A personal achievement I'd say.

"What the hell can I do at three in the morning?" I asked myself as I did a once over around the place.

The station car held a small orange glow behind the blurred windows, meaning it was probably best if I tried to stay as quiet as possible since if it was Splinter, I didn't want to disturb him and if it was the boys, I didn't want them knowing I was up on the off chance Raph is there.

Last thing I need is a 200 pound turtle angry with me for disturbing his 'me time'.

That thought only made me snicker at the image of Raph having some sort of facial, with cucumbers over his eyes, the whole shebang.

That's what I'd want to do in my 'me time' anyway; Raph could certainly use the spa treatment given his stress levels yesterday.

I didn't particularly want to go raiding their kitchen, especially since the way Mikey was acting whenever I brought up 'pizza'. Something about a betrayal but I've gotten to know Mickey enough to accept his little quirks.

I'm still not sure if that's a benefit or an issue yet.

So that left the storage room and Donnie's computer corner, as I liked to call it.

'Hmm, I wonder what equipment he has. Probably valuable' I thought, gaining my interest, before I practically slapped myself across the face.

"The hell you doing? They're not targets, Lea" I fought my natural instinct to scout around the 'intrguing' electronic corner and instead headed towards storage.

I'll save the corner for when Donnie gets up, that way I can make sure I keep my hands to myself.

'Hey, he might be able to put some good music on my shuffle' I thought happily as I approach the storage entrance.

Cautiously peeking around the edges of the doorway, I slowly crept into the spacious room as I scanned over the boxes.

Most were simply old supplies and tools, probably left behind by the workers that used to operate here.

Large plumbing covered most of the wall and a few protruded and arched, giving a style of pillar in a continuous pattern all the way to the other end of the room.

A few wall lights illuminated the walk space between the box rows as I continued exploring.

'They're really set up down here' I admired briefly as I came across a few open boxes and began investigating.

Come on, you're under the same roof as four mutant turtles and a man rat and you're _not_ going to investigate their stuff?

Walking over to the first opened box, I peered inside; I could barely make out the outline of a large steel helmet. A family heirloom, maybe?

'I doubt workers carry around armour' my head commented dryly.

Not wanting to damage it, I went over to the next box, only to find stacks of magazines and a note.

"If you touch my mags, I will stab you with a spoon. That means you, Greg, so hands off" I read the note out loud before looking at the 'mags' with regard before I realized what they were.

They were Playboy magazines.

A lot of Playboy magazines.

_A lot_ of Playboy magazines.

Oh, and one 'Good Housekeeping'.

"Did they actually _work _down here?" I stared in shock at the sheer amount of magazines in this small box before doing what was best and closed it, making sure it was shut tight.

'Why was this box open? I wonder if the guys found them…. wait, do they find humans attractive?' The thought crossed my mind before I shoved it aside.

Here's me trying to not get attached to them and I'm standing here wondering what their _sexual preference _is.

"I'm doomed. I just know it" I gave up on arguing with myself (you can only get so far with…well, yourself) and decided to explore the final box in this cramped section.

'Hmm…a video camera?' I thought curiously as I inspected the old model before seeing if it still worked.

"Wow, it actually has power" I muttered in amazement while I pulled out the small screen on the side, only to have the small bright glow of the screen blind me for a few seconds as my eyes adjusted to see a few videos stored on the memory card.

'Well, I'm already snooping around, might as well. I just hope it's not related with the magazines' I shuddered at the thought.

Choosing the first video, I was faced with a black screen. Thinking there was nothing, I was about to back out when a quiet voice echoed out of the device.

Turning up the volume slightly, I was able to make out the words.

"Is it ready, Donnie? Is it fixed?"

"Almost"

"Come on, how hard is it?"

"I'm Googling as fast as I can!"

"Well, Google faster!"

"Give him a sec, Raph"

"He must've been born a grump," I giggled to myself before the video finally worked and I could see the most nauseatingly _adorable_ turtle face with wide brown eyes staring happily down the lens.

"I think it's working!" he smiled happily, before three others entered the frame.

"Hey, I can see you guys through the screen!" a voice in the background cheered as the others tried awkwardly to see themselves in the screen while also trying to stay in the shot.

"They're so cute, my inner girl is _gagging_" I tried hating the picture but I couldn't stop the toothy smile from appearing.

This is perfect blackmail should I need it later, but thoughts for later I suppose.

On with the video.

'They look like they're six …I don't know any six years olds I didn't want to steal from for being ridiculously spoiled…" I mumbled in deep thought before a voice interrupted.

"What have you found, Donatello?" the camera moved over to face a younger looking Splinter without the definitive walking stick and weary voice probably brought on through years of childcare.

"It's a portal~" Mikey tried sounding mystical, wiggling his tiny fingers towards Splinter, making him chuckle.

"My, my. It is certainly a find worthy of attention, then" he smiled.

"I-I managed to fix it, dad!" Donnie's voice was filled with pride as Splinter glanced towards the camera.

"A proud achievement, Donatello" I didn't need to see his face to know he was beaming.

"Do you know what it's supposed to do?" Leo peered at the camera with innocent eyes as the sound of fighting over the camera buttons and familiar button mashing began.

"It records memories and special moments. So when you're older, you can relive the moment" he smiled at their inquisitive expressions as he gently took the camera away and turned it towards the group.

"What do you want to say to the future?" he asked as their faces practically buzzed with ideas.

"Oh, don't forget Old Mike, you owe me a pepperoni pizza slice" Donnie grinned at Mikey's childish pout; I couldn't help but laugh at that since that's basically he way they are now.

'Children never grow up' I thought ironically, since technically we were all considered kids still.

"One day, you will get that X2 monster truck, no matter how many times dad said no" Raph encouraged; I could literally feel Splinter's eye roll behind the camera.

"Ok, remember that idea you had about ice hockey and jetpacks? Replace the ice hockey with tennis and you're good to go" Mikey winked at the camera as everyone turned to Leo to finish it off.

'Wonder if Mikey still has that idea' I thought absently as we all waited for Leo.

"If you ever get the chance to do football topside, get you and Raph onto the team. We'll be the top players in no time" he smiled as they high-fived each other.

I stared in honest shock and surprise: when the hell was Raph _nice_?

To _Leo_, out of all of them?

The camera spun around to see Splinter's confused face peer down the lens.

"Where's the 'off' button?" it focused on his face for a few moments before the screen turned dark.

Deafening silence filled the room again as I leant against the boxes behind me for support.

I sat there for a few minutes before I realized a single tear fell down my cheek.

Wiping it away in shame, I stashed the camera back in the box and headed back into the sitting room.

Lying back on the couch, I tried to calm my thoughts to a peaceful pace.

Why the hell couldn't I have that life? Why did I have to sit here and suffer like this? Why did…why did Abigail have to exist?

The question made me physically flinch; I knew it wasn't her fault and I shouldn't blame her. Hell, she was the one who showed me our parents were complete assholes.

Why the hell did it hurt then?

"It is hard to hide something that is meant to be expressed"

I didn't turn to see Splinter come from the station car and into the sitting room; choosing the chair directly in front of the couch.

The setting and the atmosphere immediately transformed into a therapy session.

I really hate therapists.

"Why does it hurt?" I begrudgingly asked like a child, hoping in vain that he could draw the answer out of a hat.

Simple as that.

"Everyone is built to carry the weight of the world, but not everyone can do so without a broken back or a broken heart" he replied calmly, which only angered me.

"What kind of teaching is that? Why should I be forced to have this…_feeling_? I never wanted it; hell, I never had it until I met you and the others. I was fine by myself" I growled, gripping the cushion below me like a constricting vice.

"Were you alright? Or has the wall you built around yourself prevented you from seeing?" he questioned me, only adding to my frustration.

"Stop talking in riddles! I'm having a bloody emotional breakdown and you can't even talk to me straight up!" I hissed, glaring straight into his eyes.

"Would you rather I yell back since that is a response you can deal with?" he asked moments later, making me tense.

The quiet settled back on top of us like a comforting blanket, only my tense breathing was heard.

"I can't" I shrugged helplessly, looking at the pillow I was cruelly choking.

I heard shuffling before large hands enclosed mine and gently loosened my grip.

"No matter if you were bulletproof, or titanium, everyone needs a hand to guide and support some time in their life," he explained, sitting next to me while moving one hand to my shoulder.

"Did you just quote a song?" I smiled weakly; he quickly returned it.

"No matter how foolish a song may seem, given the right attention, it can be essential in uniting a universal crowd under one strong message. True, that message may not always be…productive…but it is the beneficial ones that contribute. Other words 'You can't have the great without the rubbish' "

He finished with a pat on my shoulder before lifting my face up with his hand.

"My dear, you have the experience and years of an adult, yet you deal with the experience through the body and eyes of a child. It is a sad sight to see" his pity felt like daggers aimed straight at my heart.

"Why do you persist?" I hissed but I didn't have the heart to be truly angry with him.

"If I don't, who will?" he retorted as we sat in silence for what felt like hours.

I really didn't need this fight, but from what I've gathered about the loveable gang of mutants, they aren't going anywhere anytime soon.

Some part of me reveled in that fact, but my trust issues aren't exactly soft on me.

Either way, the tense atmosphere of the place was choking me under a heavy weight; I desperately needed some air.

"I need to return to the alley. I've been gone too long so there's a risk my stuff might be stolen" I stated without any hint of emotion as I headed straight for my heavy boots.

"Then I will not stop you. Your life is your own…but think on what I've said" he replied as I stood in the middle of the entrance like an idiot.

Hearing shuffling behind me, I couldn't help it.

"Splinter…" I called as I watched him turn away from the station car.

"Yes?" he faced me curiously.

"…Thank you, for what it's worth" I nodded awkwardly before quickly setting off out of the sewers.

I didn't see his smile before he retired for the rest of the morning.

* * *

><p>"Should we follow her?" I whispered to the others as we crowded the top of the staircase.<p>

"If you want to be a stalker, that's your business" Raph huffed in what I could only describe as boredom.

"Not now, Raph" Don pled tiredly.

"I was just saying maybe we should watch out for her. Its still night and she's not exactly in a good state right now" I tried to tell Raph but I knew he wasn't in the mood for it.

"Well done, genius," Raph muttered, but after a while, I'd gotten used to ignoring his criticism.

"She needs her space"

"She needs help, you saw how she was acting!"

Raph and I argued back and forth for about two minutes before we managed to quiet down.

"What if Splinter notices that we're gone?" Don asked, worried.

"Okay, two go after her while two stay here and distract him long enough for the others to get back" I suggested as I patiently waited for Raph's argument.

"Why does she interest you so much?"

…Well, I wasn't expecting that.

"You saw her the other day, she was acting like we were robbers" I explained with exasperation. Couldn't he care for someone else for just a few minutes?

"I saw a girl wanting space, and I'm happy to give it to her" he retorted quickly.

"She did seem a bit closed off. Maybe she's not used to contact" Donnie suggested but was soon intimidated by Raph's default glare.

"Maybe she thinks we're mutants" Raph muttered before walking off.

"So, you're not helping?" I made sure he noticed the disappointment in my voice, and he was more than happy to retaliate.

"She wants nothing to do with us, Leo. Why don't you do the girl a favor and accept that?" he walked briskly off into his room as he plunged the rest of us into awkward silence.

"What if he's right?" I looked to see Mikey's unsure face as he looked between Donnie and me.

"What if he's wrong?" we both turned to see Donnie's calculating face as we waited for him to elaborate.

"I mean she's obviously in emotional pain. What if she needs the extra support?" Donnie encouraged, lifting our spirits and remove the awkward tension Raph's presence usually manages to leave everywhere.

"Okay, so who's staying with bowling ball?" Mikey grinned, pointing at Raph's room.

"I can hear you" A growl vibrated through the door, making him snigger.

"I'll stay. If Splinter gets suspicious, I'll keep him distracted. Plus, it'll hopefully let Raph blow off steam and calm him for the day" I tried to stay serious, but Mikey's grin was infectious as I nodded towards the others.

"You two just make sure she gets home alright…and tell her she's not alone" I smiled as they tried to stealthily walk down the stairs and leave.

It reminded me so much of a TV episode where a drunk person tried to sneak into their parents' house and managed to make every noise imaginable, including yelling 'I'm not even drunk yet!'

The sad part was they didn't have the excuse of alcohol, which made it even funnier.

* * *

><p>"Do you think she'll be mad we followed her?" Mikey asked next to me as we slowly travelled over to the alleyway again.<p>

"Well, I hope she doesn't feel smothered. We are just trying to help her" I shrugged, praying she didn't fight like last time.

I can't handle those situations on my own.

"Y'know…what if Raph's right and she just needs space"

I turned to see Mikey look like he was actually in deep thought; I didn't know whether to be proud or creeped out.

"She doesn't think you're a mutant," I told him, knowing _exactly _what he was hinting at and not liking it one bit.

"But-Ow!" he rubbed his sore head as he glared at my blank expression.

"What was that for?"

"For being an idiot"

"What-"

"Now shut up about it and come on" I pushed him gently forward as we saw the alleyway approaching.

"Can I ask you something?"

"You just did"

"Ha, ha. Very funny" Mikey huffed as I smiled innocently, waiting for him to continue.

"Do you think we can help her?" I paused as I mulled over his question.

Can we? Or are her emotional issues just too big. I mean we're just barely hitting our teens and we're talking about this stuff already? This isn't right.

"We can always try, Mikey" I tried to encourage him but I was probably failing.

"I guess its Mikey to the rescue again" he grinned obnoxiously as he slid down the ladder.

Shaking my head in amusement, I quickly followed, only to walk straight into his shell as we entered the shelter.

"What…Lea?" I called nervously as we both stood there looking at Lea, sitting against the alleyway wall in shock.

"They took everything"

* * *

><p>Two nights away was long enough for stragglers to rob the place of everything salvageable, which made me feel even more stupid.<p>

I left two of the most valuable things in my life, my childhood chest and my novel I was given for my 7th birthday, behind when I was brought to shelter by Leo and the others; I didn't even bother to hide them or put them somewhere safe.

Stupid, stupid, stupid…

I leant against the wall inside the shelter as I just…took it in, I guess.

Don and Mikey stood awkwardly on the other side of the shelter; after quickly interrogating them, I learned that Leo and Raph apparently stayed behind (well, Leo stayed behind and I knew Raph wasn't going to leave, anyway) so hopefully Splinter would stay distracted long enough for them to get back while they were over here making sure I was safe.

Really stupid…but appreciated.

"I'm sorry, Lea" Donnie interrupted my musings, obviously trying to break the tension but I just snorted.

"Don't be. It was my stupid fault and you're practically the smartest person I know; not all of my friends can managed to access electricity in the sewers without it being suspicious" Donnie gave a small smile at the compliment but the tension soon killed it.

"I can't believe it's all gone" I sighed at my lack of judgment.

"Don't worry, I lose stuff all the time. Like pizza apparently" he slowly leaned dramatically close to Donnie face with a suspicious glare.

It was quickly covered by Donnie's hand as he shoved him away without so much as a glance.

He didn't even look when he landed on his ass.

"We'll try to help in any way," he offered but we both knew it was useless.

"Rule of thieving, Olive. Never keep stolen goods. As long as they exist, it's evidence" I felt like a teacher right then.

A currently depressed, homeless teacher, but it's the thought that counts.

"Olive?" he asked in confusion, distracting me from my internal ramblings.

"Your skin. It was the first thing I noticed when we met; I tend to make up little nicknames for people when I first meet them since I don't know their names" I managed to giggle at his embarrassed look.

"Hey, what about me?" I looked to see Mikey pouting on the floor.

"Well, Raph called you Mikey before you went down the manhole so I knew your name already…so I didn't make a nickname" I shrugged apologetically.

"Oh, just stab me while you're at it. I see where your love's going" he sulked before we both began laughing at each other.

It was stupid but that seems to be the theme of the day. At least we can have a laugh.

After a few more silent moments, a question popped into my head.

"Mikey, why do you keep talking about...'pizza betrayal' I guess" Shrugging casually, I waited for his reply.

It didn't take long.

"My pizza slice in the fridge went missing a couple days ago. It's been driving me insane" he sighed in mourning on the floor.

I felt the heat rise quickly to my cheeks, catching their attention.

"I feel guilty for saying this now, but...I kinda ate it for breakfast" I shrunk under his intense gaze before he sighed in absolute relief.

"Thank god for that!" he gave a toothy smile as he relaxed, laying back happily on the floor.

Donnie and I shared an incredulous look before turning back to him.

"You're not angry?" I asked cautiously, wondering if he was playing it cool but secretly planning a murder.

"I'm relieved! The past few days, my brothers wouldn't break under my 'confession tactics' so I thought there's been a neglected pizza slice hiding somewhere. That's just not right" he laid on the ground happily while we just processed the information.

"So, you hid my newest invention in the making and threatened to attach it to your skateboard as you did your morning practise..._just _because you thought there was a pizza slice missing" Donnie actually managed an intense glare at his oblivious brother as he nodded proudly.

It took a few seconds, but the laugh bubbling in my chest burst out as I tried to take Donnie's glare seriously.

It didn't work.

The brothers just watched in mild fear like I was going off the deep end.

Unfortunately, when it died down, we were still left in the same position we started from.

We tried a few more attempts at talking before we settled back into silence.

It was like that for a few more agonizingly slow minutes.

"So…what should we do?" Mikey piped up, the awkwardness of the situation already putting his nerves on end.

"You guys should head back before Splinter notices. I'm going to check up on some friends, see if they know the stragglers" I shrugged, giving one more glance around the place in hope, even if I knew it was completely pointless.

Girl can dream, right?

"You sure that's safe?" Donnie questioned, making me feel slightly smothered. But it was…nice, in a weird way.

It was like the worrying side of my mind was able to relax and Donnie took it up.

Mikey was just…Mikey. That was all he needed to be.

"I've already told you, I'll be fine. Just worry about yourselves alright" I patted Don on the cheek before slowly pushing them through the door.

"Hey, yo-yo, you in?"

I froze for a second before I realized someone was at the door.

"Shit" I swore in panic under my breath, almost pulling Don and Mikey to the floor as I shoved them away.

Their startled looks turned to worry, as they were thankfully able to hide out of sight of the doorway.

Peeking through the flap in hopes it was my imagination, I was unlucky enough to see the face of my nightmares.

"What do you want, Stretch?" I crossed my arms with a solid glare as I walked out and quickly blocked the doorway.

'Stretch' was the neighborhood 'collector', making sure the local homeless and underdogs followed the area's regulations and standards.

Hopefully, I won't have to explain the entire system to you but put simply, the city is split into districts and each district has a hierarchy where groups of homeless/criminals/beggars/etc. operate.

Essentially, Stretch is our unofficial leader, called 'Stretch' because he certainly sits on the border between_ barely_ looking like a leader and looking like a sewer rat.

Difference is the rats smell better.

His short, greasy black hair shelled his pale face as his acid green eyes watched every single movement you did. Surprisingly analytical, I know.

Small black hairs covered his chin and upper lip, but the way it looked only added to the rough image that was 'black-and-blue beggar boy'.

Called so due to his habit of begging for money, wasting it on booze, then assaulting one of the homeless along the street.

The next day, he always wakes up with a black and blue eye. Well we hope he does anyway; it means they were able to put up a fight.

"What? Can't a guy examine the laborers-" he pulled out his thick hands behind his back.

My eyes sank with utter defeat.

"-Especially when said laborer owes a favor" he smirked, holding out the book and the locked chest.

My life is over.

"Can…can we do this later, Stretch?" I almost begged him, immediately scolding myself about how weak I sounded.

"Why, got company?" he sneered, trying to peak past my body.

"As a matter of fact, I do. Two of them, actually"

"Oo, spicy" He leered, unsettling my stomach to no end.

"Didn't realize you were getting into the business early" he remarked causally, like he was discussing work meetings.

"Practice" I managed to choke out.

Damn this is degrading; first being robbed, now this.

"What do you want?" I quickly asked, wanting to retreat back inside my haven as soon as possible.

"Heist night~" he practically sang with joy, which I hated to admit did peak my interest.

"Thought Sparx still had that injury" I uncrossed my arms, instead leading him down the alleyway so the others didn't have to hear this.

'Hopefully, they got the earlier hint and would flee without being seen' I thought nervously.

It was only later that I'd realize that I was actually embarrassed to show them this side of my life.

'Damn influence is affecting me more than I thought, or want' I muttered angrily in my head as we stopped just before a large green rubbish bin.

"He died last night. Which means the position was open and we have another taker" he clapped proudly; I just shrugged emotionless.

They always get the workers on the street to help with the heist. Especially if it's a big one.

I'm usually a straggler distraction, helping in delaying the police from reaching the heist scene as much as possible without being directly involved.

Guess I've been promoted.

You see, Sparx was our 'heavy hitter' of the team but they never last long. We even call them 'heavy hitters' because they're the ones that get caught and injured while the rest of us leave with the loot.

Every heist, we have a 'heavy hitter' or 'distraction dummy'; a tech support to guide the party through the building as quickly as possible; a commlink who monitors police radios for any hint that we're caught and two strikers: they're the ones who do the real work.

The job is the same as normal, except I'm directly involved and therefore the one police arrest.

"Well, since you have company…I'll collect what I'm due later. _Then_, you can have your stuff back" he smirked, as I resisted the urge to knock him out.

'Yeah, that's if I get out of it free, you ass !' I restrained my instinct and instead chose to nod stoically.

"So…ready to dance the night away" he encircled me like a play toy with his lanky arms as he trapped me in a cage to the brick wall.

The smell forced me up against the wall in a chokehold.

"Winner takes all" I replied, resisting the urge to hit him again as it came back full force. I saw out of the corner of my eye Don and Mikey run up the nearby ladder silently.

Oh god, please tell me they didn't here any of this.

"Good girl" he whispered before releasing me and walking away, hands in pockets.

"I look forward to the results" before he suddenly turned around with a charmed smile.

"We're partners, remember?"

And with that, he left without a moment's notice.

I took a few deep breaths before practically running into the shelter.

After a few moments of calming down, I removed the blankets of my makeshift bed away, revealing to me a loose stone but to anyone else a stone-cold floor.

Lifting the stone away, I took out my skinny black trousers and long sleeved shirt as well as my walkie-talkie and, my last resort, a 9mm pistol.

Thankfully, I've never had to use it before.

Quickly changing in the corner just in case Stretch or the others decided to walk in, I clipped the pistol into its holster and laid them below one of the cardboard chairs.

"Well, better get some shut-eye" I thought, unnervingly excited as I replaced the blankets on the floor and immediately began to drift off again.

* * *

><p>"What do you think that was about?" Mikey asked as we kept away from the edge of the buildings as we slowly made our way back.<p>

"I don't know, Mikey. Something about that 'Stretch' dude didn't sit right with me" I looked back towards the alleyway before I was hit on the arm.

"Don't sweat, Don. She'll be fine" he grinned which somehow made everything feel all right.

"I hope so, Mikey" I sighed before I heard talking below us.

Motioning a finger to my lips, we inched towards the edge and slowly looked over.

Two hooded figures hid behind one of the large trashcans as they began whispering and exchanging items.

"Ready for the night?"

" 'Course. Yo-yo going?"

"When doesn't she?"

"Reckon she'll wear her black outfit?"

"Hope she does"

"You said it"

They began laughing to themselves as I exchanged looks with Mikey.

"Maybe we should warn her…" Mikey whispered as he began backing off.

Unfortunately Mikey isn't the _quietest_ whisperer.

"What the…hey, you!" I turned in fear as the boys looked up in shock before it morphed into rage and ran towards the nearest ladder.

"Mikey!" I yelled before grabbing his arm tightly and almost threw him across the gap as we sprinted over the rooftops and towards whichever manhole was closest.

We were managing to get a good distance away before I heard their footsteps slam across the highs and lows of the concrete floor below us.

'Come on, a little more' I thought before shots fired behind us.

"Oh, come on!" I yelled in frustration mixed with panic as I forced Mikey and I to run faster and virtually dove over the edge of the rooftop, towards the ground and full sprint towards the manhole.

"Hurry, Mikey!" We grabbed either end of the manhole and barely dragged it open.

He just managed to go down before the men showed up.

"Hold it!" I heard him yell behind us before I jumped down as fast as humanly possible.

Unfortunately, that didn't stop a bullet grazing my arm.

* * *

><p>'If they're dead, I'll kill them!" I thought in blind fear as I chased after the echoing gunshots before they fell silent. A short cry followed quickly after.<p>

'No, no, no, no…' I repeated like a mantra as I flew around the street corner to come face to face with tweedle-dum and tweedle-dead.

"Hey, yo-yo. Nice outfit" They smirked like irritating twins as I marched up them in a fury.

"What the hell are you playing at?!" I slapped them both harshly, forcing them back.

"Two bums caught our trade, we were just making sure they knew we didn't like snitches" he sneered, rubbing his cheek dotingly.

"Are they dead?" I asked, putting all my energy into keeping my voice level.

"No. Bastards legged it to the sewers. _One_ of them got the message though" they grinned but my glare tore it off.

Unfortunately, the other one was an idiot.

"Yeah, should we lend an _arm_ to help him" he began to laugh manically at his own joke before he finally noticed my growing frustration.

"You're rookies but that doesn't mean you're supposed to be brain-dead. You start shooting up the place, cops show up. And when cops show up, they arrest the people with the guns. And when the people get arrested, _we_ _lose revenue_." My voice raised an octave with each statement I made; at the same time, I think I saw their ego shrink.

"Get back to your hovels before I call the cops myself. Be sure Stretch will here of this and you better pray that I'm not a snitch today" I commanded them, giving them a kick when they wouldn't move at a quick pace.

"Move it! Stupid ingrates!" I snarled, as they muttered frustrated swears on their way down the street.

Once they left, I turned towards the alleyway which the barely open manhole.

A few drops of blood were left along the rim.

"If they're seriously hurt, you're dead," I snarled to myself, which suddenly shook me out of my stupor.

I sat by the manhole in confusion before sighing in defeat.

"Well, if there was ever a moment where I told myself I didn't care about them, I think it just buggered off" Sighing with sudden tiredness, I decided I was too tense for going back to sleep and instead figured a wander around the local shopping mall would be a good start at relaxing.

After all, we are raiding the place later.

I gave one last hesitant look at the manhole before deciding against it.

'If he's seriously hurt, because he was worried at _me..._I don't know what I'd do' I thought solemnly as i began a slow walk to the mall.

He better be alright.


	4. This Night Went Well

**Hi guys, just a little note from your favourite panda. I know I haven't updated in a while (thank you Christmas shopping), but I plan to get back on track once I get through most of my paperwork I'm slaving over. Coupled with the fact that I've been juggling ideas for this chapter left, right and centre, my head is about to combust.**

**So, without further ado, the next chapter :)**

* * *

><p>Father was <em>not <em>happy.

His gaze was hard but utterly disappointed as he focused on meditating in front of me; he hadn't said a word for 2 hours now.

As soon as Mikey and I walked through the entrance, we caught the tail end of Leo and Raph's recent argument, with Splinter acting as the signpost saying 'Keep your hands to yourselves'

Immediately, Splinter's eyes shot towards us in the doorway as we shrunk guiltily under his stare.

He silently walked over to both of us as he lifted my injured arm tenderly, as if waiting for it to snap.

Small blotches of blood surrounded the small wound but wasn't as bad as I had feared it would be.

Thanks to film and TV shows, when someone gets shot, it's usually fatal and/or emotionally wrecking for the person and their friends and family.

So when I realized my arm had ben grazed, I practically had a heart attack. Mikey, being the only emotional support I had at the time, slapped me. It surprisingly worked.

'Wow, barely 13 and I've already been shot at. Thanks for that' I mentally voiced to whoever was up there as I bit my lip lightly; the movement from father pulled on the arm muscle at a painful angle.

Mikey just patted my shoulder in sympathy.

'Oh, now he pities me' I halfheartedly glared at him as I focused on father's expression.

With one look, he managed to say everything a lecture couldn't; I saw the disapproval and sadness in his eyes, which brought a wave of shame over my head.

Watching the floor, I followed him towards his station car where we sat like statues as he delicately, and with almost perfect precision, cleaned and bandaged my wound.

Now, he was sitting in a meditative state on the floor as I remained on the chair he placed me on, afraid it would break him out of his trance and force me to face the shame and guilt that I was currently able to put under lock and key.

I spotted the others through one of the windows watching something on TV but none of them were speaking, at least not as loud as they normally would.

Tense, or what?

"Go join your brothers, Donatello" my head whipped round to face Splinter, looking at me with a softer gaze but still held that negativity.

"I'm sorry, father" I hung my head in shame; I heard shuffling and tensed before I felt arms wrap around me.

"Father?" I asked nervously as I awkwardly reciprocated.

"My child, it is not safe for you and your brothers to venture out there on your own just yet…otherwise, that bullet may one day hit its target"

I felt my arms slightly tense around me, as his words started to unnerve me.

"You are my son, as are your brothers. I have four children who I share my love with equally and proudly…I am too young to see that number shrink" I immediately held him tightly as his words sunk in.

We were like that for a few minutes before he pulled away.

"Go to your brothers, Donatello, but promise that you'll refrain from such actions for now" he asked with an authorative tone but he still held a fatherly gaze.

"I promise, father" I gained a sudden confidence as he smiled weakly at me, before ushering me out of the car.

Everyone's head turned towards me as I sat down on the couch next to Mikey as we watched some sort of car chase.

"How'd it go?" Leo asked, eyes turning back to the screen.

"It was...enlightening" I replied causally, earning a raised eyebrow from Mikey.

"What?"

"You've been in there for hours bandaging an arm wound with no noise at all and it's _enlightening_?" he lifted up a pepperoni slice from the freshly-delivered pizza from the delivery place across the street while he gave me the look that practically said 'really?'

"Well I now know what arm muscles under the skin look like" I shrugged, hoping to get the right reaction.

"Dude, gross!" it was silent for a few moments as we walked the characters dodge an exploding gas tank.

"What did it look like?"

"Pepperoni"

He froze as he looked down at the pizza slice inches from his face.

"That was just harsh, Donnie" he threw the pizza back in the box and placed it on the table.

"I know" I smirked as I took the pizza away and began eating, feeling Mikey's glare intensify with every bite.

"Hey, don't hit me, I'm injured over here!" laughing along with the others; the tense situation finally easing off to at least let us breathe relaxed.

* * *

><p>Watching them laugh brought a smile to my face before the situation reared its ugly head again.<p>

Turning away from the window, I focused on the walking stick leaning subtly against the wall, and immediately memories of training and exercise filled my senses and tensed my muscles, like it has done the past few weeks.

The smell of faint incense invaded my nostrils as I projected myself into my recollections.

It has been years since I taught myself and honed my skills of the art of ninjutsu, guided under the watchful eyes of my sensei; my family.

Instead I chose to teach myself the skill and patience of fatherhood; a skill that has proved useful on many occasions.

"So then, what to do?" I muttered to myself in deep consideration as I glided over to the stick and lifted it up.

The weight was balanced but light and I began to slowly recall the movements and the patterns, my body mimicking my memory in a slow dance before an quick end.

My memories will need improvement.

"Teach my sons ninjutsu, knowing they will undoubtedly attract many allies, but many enemies? Or simply stay in silence, followed by the chance they walk down the wrong alleyway with no protection?"

The conflict fluttered around my mind as I faced the only belonging of my past, a small picture I was able to carry at the time; I refused to stow it away.

"Sensei, Yoshi…what would you do?"

* * *

><p>"Everything set?"<p>

A small group of us sat in a small van outside the shopping mall; we've been discussing tactics for the past hour and no one's made a decision.

It's gone past the line of tedious.

"Well, I still think the back entrance is the best. Least amount of cameras and it's the last point on the guard's patrol"

"I think we shouldn't go for _any _of the entrances. There's a pathway through the ventilation system on the roof we can use"

"The entrance to the roof is on the _inside_, genius"

"There is something called a maintenance ladder. Perhaps you've seen one before?"

"Are you quite finished?" I sneered at the bickering bunch of asses I was being forced to share air with while our tech support searched through the guard's on duty, their patrol, the security cameras; you name it, they've seen it.

"Comms, how are we doing?"

"No suspicions so far. Nothing happening in the local area…we've set the security footage on loop so everything's ready; we're literally waiting on your plans, Stretch"

"Alright then" he mused to himself before turning to me.

"You want your stuff back so you'd want to do the plan that gets you out of the building safe and free. What do you think?" he asked me in what he probably thought was a _polite _tone.

'Yeah, I'll show him polite when I kick him in the-'

"I prefer the maintenance idea. There are too many clusters of camera footage focused on the main doorways and the guards on duty have almost perfect views of the doorways themselves" the 'doorway' man narrowed his eyes at my criticism before looking away.

"There's a maintenance door around the back of the building for supply drops we could use for access. One of the tunnels leads to the storage area below the facility."

"Once we're in storage, the tunnel system gives full access to the area, including one of the abandoned stores on the bottom floor, which is near the place we're looking for. Practically and 'in-and-out' job" I smirked with pride, ignoring some of the angry stares as I waited for Stretch's approval.

"Any problems the team could go across, tech?" he immediately asked, killing my pride.

"If there were problems, I wouldn't have planned it out already" it was my turn to glare.

"That's exactly why I'm asking. You can get out scot free, but remember that you're the hitter. You don't get to leave until we get to safety" he treated me like a collared pet, which only made my knuckles twitch.

'Thank god I don't do this everyday or I probably would've killed him by now...wonder if this is how Raph feels' I thought back on my…well, friends I suppose, but the image of a wounded Don has been distracting me all day.

It even killed my enthusiasm for the heist; that's just unthinkable.

"Come on, Lea. Focus" I scolded myself as I thought over the plans once we were inside the building.

"Still talking to yourself again, Lea? I mean I know you're insane but keep it at home. Oh, wait" I heard the 'doorway' man mumbled to the rest of the team, mocking me like I was completely deaf to their remarks.

I snapped.

Before I knew it, I was forcefully restrained to the chair by Stretch as the men started laughing like the idiots they were. His grip on my forearms tightened painfully as I struggled.

"Look, just do your job and you can bugger off with your stuff, alright? You're here for a reason, so shut up" he glared with surprising authority as he issued the others to leave the van before he followed.

I eventually dragged myself out as I regrettably mulled over his words.

_You're here for a reason._

I'm always here for a reason, there's no way in hell I'd be with you _willingly_. No, the only ones I want to hang out with are…turtles.

"The only ones I've actually began to trust in my years on the street and we're not even the same _species_," I mumbled. I doubt they'd trust me now because of Donnie-

"No, not now, not here. Hold it together, now… you can check on him later; that should calm you down" my mind encouraged me as I supported myself over towards the ladder and door with the others.

People say I'm crazy, that I hear voices in my head, but if the only one you ever fully believed you could trust were yourself and your instincts, you'd start to listen to yourself too.

Though I suppose talking turtles doesn't sound too bad either.

"Right, yo-yo stay up top with radio contact incase there's a passing patrol of blues or they get here sooner than they should. The rest of you, secure the main area. Once we have what we came for, rendezvous at the maintenance area" Stretch ushered the others through the door before turning to me.

"Don't think I haven't heard about that incident earlier with the twin idiots. The bums they were shooting better not have any useful information, otherwise I'm pinning it on you" he pointed in what I assumed was a threatening stance before retreating into the darkness of the maintenance hallway.

"They're not bums" I felt like going in after him, but restrained myself.

"Get out, and go. He's not worth it," I mumbled to myself as I climbed the ladder to main section of roof.

Sitting at a spot near the front of the building, I laid on my stomach and watched for any traffic.

"Tech, you hear anything?"

"Nothing, yet…you know Stretch didn't mean what he said, right?"

"Tech, I know he's your brother but don't defend him with me"

A small sigh was heard over the radio before radio silence.

It was like that for a good 30 minutes.

"…Yo-yo, are you seeing this?"

"What?" Looking over the edge of the building, I scanned the area for anything suspicious.

"The black van across the street?"

"Yea…do you recognize the symbol on the van?"

Focusing on its side, I flinched when I recognized the blood red mark.

"What the hell is the Foot Clan doing here? Their turf is on the other side of the city!" I panicked as I whispered down the radio receiver.

"You better warn, Stretch" she replied in what I could only describe as sisterly worry.

"Fine" I bit down my temptation to just led it be a surprise for them while I connected to Stretch's radio.

"Stretch, you need to leave. Foot Clan is in the area right now so get your ass out"

"You kidding? Goddamnit, why now! Better prepare the men, then" he mumbled distractedly before his voice became loud again.

"You get your ass down here and make sure we get out alright" before radio silence echoed.

This is the worst week of my life.

"Okay, Lea…doors are off limits for obvious limits…storage wouldn't really offer much tactical advantage…I guess there's always the mission impossible route"

Deciding to try and at least be a bit stealthy, I chose the ventilation shaft as my way in.

It's safer than any of the doors at this point, but not by much considering the amount of dust, screws and god knows what else.

Still better than Foot clan any day.

"First, my home gets soaked, then my stuff gets stolen, _then _I begin to form a bloody _friendship _with mutant turtles, then we get attacked by the bloody foot clan, then I force myself through a sharp edged, unreliable vent…all for a bloody tactical advantage I've completely forgot about"

I muttered angrily through the vents as I bent and crawled my way through, scuffing my knees which I thank God that I remembered to add padding to.

Muttering voices were heard below as I looked through a grate opening in the vent to see Stretch and the others surrounded by the Foot, who were surrounded by the bodies of the relieved security guards.

"Why are you doing this?" One of the newest recruits, barely looked about 14, whimpered under the gaze of who I guessed was the leader.

"The Foot has no competition. Nothing personal; just business" a young woman gestured to her men before they killed everyone but Stretch.

Lucky bastard.

"The bodies of the fallen will mask your connection to the death of the guards from your 'Hierarchy', was it? Who takes the blame is your problem" her sharp voice rang out in the empty hall.

"Our deal was with you. We spare your life and in exchange you hand us your resources, your men, and your loyalty. We will deal with your superiors when the time comes" she linked her hands behind her, a calm posture considering she's surrounding by dead people.

Knowing me, I'd probably be in a nervous wreck by now.

"Of course, babe. You'll not find a better mole" he smirked but a blade's edge was quickly held to his throat.

"Show some respect, worm! You will not dishonor her in front of me" one of her men snarled before returning to his guarded pose beside her.

"Any issues you want to speak of?" she asked, surprisingly in a bored tone.

"Well, unless there's any witnesses to our dinner date, sweetie, we're good to go. We just need our hitter" he smiled nervously.

"Bitch should be here soon. Funny how loyal people are when you hold something for ransom" he grinned but her stare obviously unnerved him.

"So I have been told. Forgive me, I am only here to help establish our hold in the city. Any conversation with you only makes me want to kill you when you outlive your purpose" she began searching the room for any movement as Stretch finally took the hint and shut up.

"She'll show" he finished lamely, pretending to search around as she gave a pointed sneer.

"That pompous git, I'll throttle him when I get out of here" I almost snarled out loud but it didn't matter.

Just as he said that ill-fated, overly used line in _any _situation brought to mind, the vent began to creak under the constant pressure I added to the vents.

Tactical advantage? I might as well have thrown playboy magazines at them and said 'They're free, keep them!'

Carrying on the scene, the others looked up directly through the small opening and towards me.

Well, this cliché went off without a hitch.

"Speak of the devil…" Stretch grinned, aiming the gun up at the vent.

'Shit, shit, shit, shit…' I chanted like a savior as I scrambled through the vent, trying in vain to dodge the bullets of his pistol.

Unfortunately, one reached its targets.

Yelping in sudden shock, I gripped onto my leg as I barely crawled out of the way, before waiting to see if there were any other attacks.

Silence rang out and I took that moment to crawl helplessly through the vent and, using my limited knowledge I drilled into my head before the mission began, I found the exit and landed on the opposite side of the roof.

Using the dome glasswork on the roof, it supported me as I dragged myself across the floor and towards the van.

"Tech, you still there?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Start the engine," I grunted down the radio, sliding down the ladder and almost crying out in pain as I landed on my bad leg.

"What? You okay? Where's Stretch?"

"Stretch is nuts, he's siding with the Foot. Tried to kill me in the process" I managed as I climbed into the back of the van.

She turned from the driver's seat with a questioning stare before widening at the bullet wound.

"You're not joking"

"Well done, smartass. Start driving" she began stuttering out questions as she started the engine. I watched in horror as the others began exiting the building.

Slamming the doors shut, I managed to jump to the front seat.

"Drive, damnit!" she slammed the accelerator as we sped down the street.

"We need to get you to a hospital" she managed to speak up as I took off my gun holster and tied it around my leg.

Wasn't perfect but it had to do for now.

"No hospital. Foot territory owns it. Take home" I hissed out as my leg muscle clenched painfully around the lodged bullet.

"Home, are you-"

"Home" I growled, as she silently focused on the road.

"Do you think they'll follow us?"

"Probably, but I've got an idea" I muttered, hoping to God it would work.

Between my directions and her paranoid search in the rearview and side mirrors, we finally reached the street, only to be blocked by police cars.

"No way…" I muttered as she managed to find a small pathway around the back of the cars.

The alleyway was completely sectioned off, with police passing to and fro with what I could only guess was 'incriminating evidence', including from my limited knowledge the materials for a home bomb.

It seems I wasn't meant to leave the night unscathed; at best I'd end up with a long prison sentence.

The nearby houses evacuated and the owners watched with casual glee, knowing who lived there and probably praying I was gone for life now.

"I didn't report because I felt immense pity for the poor soul, not having a home or anything. To find out she was planning to bomb the nearby shopping centre...that's just an attack against the Lord" the old woman who used to rant about me being a 'devil child' and the need to cleanse my soul and body at church pictured herself the saint apparently when discussing witness accounts with the police.

"I never felt safe with her near my children, but I never had the heart to call it in. Now I wish I was stronger for my children" the local alcoholic, known for abusing his children, would throw them out and I would always spare my shelter and blankets for the night until their mother came home.

What all of them refused to say is that they were simply bribed to silence by the local thugs to not report any activities. Whatever reasons they were pulling out of there ass, it always boiled down to pure, simple **greed**.

"When they said I didn't have a house…" I muttered in pure shock as I watched the boxes of evidence pile out of the alleyway, taunting me.

I didn't know if I was upset or furious yet.

"I'm so…" she turned but decided against it at my glare.

"Don't need pity. Just take me to…" it was my turn to stop.

Hospital out of the question, home currently under investigation…there's only one thing left.

"Take me to a sewer grate" I muttered in shame, not just because of my pride but because I felt like I was only using them as an advantage, a last resort.

They deserve better than that, damnit.

"Okay, now I know that's blood loss talking. I'm taking you to a hospital" she spoke in confidence as she turned a corner.

"I knew you'd say that" she glanced in confusion before I knocked her unconscious, quickly taking the wheel and pulling down the next alleyway.

'At least they'll hopefully think she was just a hostage and not an accomplice' I prayed, despite barely knowing her, as I pulled her into the back of the van before managing to fall out and towards the grate.

Wait.

I halted at the edge of the hole, only just lifting the lid and making a big enough hole to slide through, before I sat in turmoil.

"Donnie got shot because of you, do you honestly think they'll help you?"

"You're gonna die if you sit here, get help already!"

"You're just using them _again_, start treating them like you care!"

"Why didn't you just let them in? Did you honestly think they'd betray you? They're turtles!"

"Do you honestly think they want you for _no _reason?"

"Maybe they're bored by now"

"You've survived without them before, you can survive again"

My mind was torn in two, no consensus in sight.

"Do you want to die alone?"

That thought rung in my ears as I sighed in mental surrender.

No, I don't.

Managing to dangle myself over the edge, I slowly crawled down the tunnel to the floor.

Let's hope I get there soon.

* * *

><p>"So, who do you thinks gonna win?" Donnie smirked at Mikey and Raph's focused faces on none other than Mario Kart.<p>

"Mikey, I've never seen so much dedication before" I smiled as I watched Mikey's unblinking poker face as he turned a corner in Peach's Garden, narrowly missing a hedge.

"Nah, Raph's in one of his moods again. No way is Mikey going to win" immediately afterwards, a blue shell smashed on top of Mikey as Raph casually drove past him.

"Losing your touch. Mikey" Raph grinned as he turned another corner.

"Not a chance, hothead" he smirked as they competitively raced towards the finish line, only a few more turns away.

Hearing a slam behind us, we turned to see a body laying at the entrance and groaning.

A human.

We all froze in instant worry; no clue how to handle the situation. It's not like people topside casually drop down in the sewers all the time.

Suddenly, her face lifted off the ground, setting us all at ease.

"Damn, Lea. You had us worr…" my voice drifted off as I caught sight of the bleeding red decorating her leg and the floor.

"Oh, no" I muttered as Donnie shot past me, examining the leg.

"She's been shot. Lost a lot of blood," he muttered clinically as he check her heart rate.

"Didn't want…to die alone" she mumbled, leaning into his touch before falling unconscious. I could tell it made Donnie panic.

"Quick, bring her to the table" he ordered as I dragged her over. Raph cleared the table while Mikey went to the station car.

"Leo, get me some cloth and water. Raph, get whatever medical books and my laptop you can drag from my desk" he ordered calmly but his voice slowly wavered.

As I went to gather the items, Splinter walked over to her, placing a hand on her face as he judged her critically.

"We need a better tourniquet" he brought over a belt from the car and securely fastened it around the thigh, a pressure point of the leg if TV has managed to teach me anything.

Raph and I returned at the same time as Don immediately flicked through each of the books.

"Colds…theories…cancer…psychology, damnit, no gun shots. Knew I should've brought home that military aid journal when I had the chance" Donnie hissed, throwing his books away as he went for his laptop.

"Leo, use the cloth and water and wipe away the blood from the wound" he called over his shoulder as he went through medical articles on the Internet.

"What can you do?" Raph called, awkwardly eyeing the painful injury.

Sure, he could be a hothead, but he wasn't heartless. He gave help when it was needed, when it counted, and this situation was no different.

"I don't know, Raph. Bullets aren't my specialty" Don glared at the screen as he impatiently flicked through the articles.

We all stood awkwardly as Splinter sat next to Don.

"Michelangelo, go and find some bandages. Raphael, go find some tweezers and blankets" he ordered calmly as they quickly set about their jobs.

"What can I do, father?" I asked nervously.

"Keep check on her heart rate and breathing" he responded instantly as I sat beside her on the couch, robotically checking her pulse and watched her chest rise and fall at a steady rate.

She looked peacefully asleep until you looked at her leg.

"Donatello" Splinter began but he was cut short.

"Not now, I-I need to help, I need to _know_" Donnie began to panic but Splinter stopped him.

"You can only know so much, my son" Donnie sighed in defeat, before glancing at the wound.

"A man needs a clear head when dealing with problems. _That _is what you need to know" father supported in the only way he knew.

He wasn't a laid-back cuddly man; he was strong but gentle, hard but loving, and above all, supportive.

We couldn't ask for more.

I could tell Donnie began to focus as he slowly went over his ideas out loud.

"We need to remove the bullet. Raph, where's the tweezers and blankets?"

He passed them wordlessly as he cleaned the wound again before gently lifting the leg on top of the blankets.

Washing the tweezers as best as he could, he began to stretch and enter the wound, using her leg as support for his arm.

She didn't react as he finally managed to locate the bullet after a few agonizing moments, slowly removing it from her leg before cleaning it again and finally using Mikey's bandages to quickly cover the wound.

"That's all we can really do without bringing her to a hospital" he turned to the rest of us before sitting on the opposite couch.

"In the meantime, take turns watching her. I will watch her first, Donatello you can watch her last. Calm yourself" he instructed as he gently pushed him towards the rooms.

"The rest of you can do as you will, I will call you when it's time to change" I stood up so father could take my seat.

"Just try to get some rest"

"Yes, father" we nodded before quietly following Donnie towards the rooms.

* * *

><p>All I felt was pain.<p>

It emanated from my leg as I grunted in misery, gripping my hands into fists as I forced my eyes open.

"Are you alright?"

I managed to turn my head to see Leo peering over me with concern.

"Crap…it wasn't a dream," I moaned to myself before daring a glance at my leg.

A small amount of blood soaked the bandages but nothing too gory, thankfully.

"How are you feeling?"

"Peachy" I huffed tiredly, trying to move to a sitting position.

"Woah there, you're not moving" he held my arms down as I glared weakly at him.

"You really aren't helping me right now" I hissed but he just snorted at my annoyance.

"Neither are you" he quipped, smirking as my glare grew.

"Do yourself a favor and lose the smirk. You're too good for that evil" he scowled in response, making me burst out in giggles.

"Okay, that just made it worse" he smiled in amusement before moving away to sit on the sofa.

I don't know if it was blood loss or because I was de-stressed, but I was more relaxed then than I had ever been in a while.

Then again, a while ago I was shot at.

"So, Buzz, how long was I out?"

"Buzz?" he quirked an eyebrow at me.

"When we met, you ruined my good mood about that sewer slide. So I nicknamed you Buzz Killer. Buzz, for short" I smiled sweetly but he playfully glared.

"Original" he scoffed, offending me to no end.

"Well, when _you _think of a better one, let me know. I'd love to hear your suggestion" I tried growling but the earlier giggles made me lose a bit of the threatening tone.

"I'll be sure to get back to you" he smiled away my threats, which only made me reach to kick him before I pulled at the muscle in my leg.

"Damn…forgot about that," I moaned, shifting my leg back as Leo did the mature act of settling with a look that telepathically sung 'That's what you get'.

"I _really _don't like you," I mumbled weakly before I chuckled to myself.

"What now?" he asked, relaxing on the sofa.

"I've just seen the irony of it all" at his questioning look, I continued.

"When I met you, I explained my nickname 'yo-yo' was because no matter how far you threw me, I came back…well it works both ways"

"I tried to push you guys away…I couldn't…_accept _you as genuine, as real…but no matter how hard I tried, you lot just kept fighting back, even if you didn't mean to. It's inspiring" I finished with a sincere smile as I watched him squirm awkwardly.

Yep, definitely due to blood loss.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Leo" I turned to see Don walk down the steps.<p>

"Your turn already?" I stretched from my seat, taking one last look at Lea before walking to meet him halfway.

"Yep. She woken up yet?" he peered over my shoulder to see his first patient. He's visibly relaxed but I could still see the knots of worry here and there.

"For a few minutes. She's awake now but barely" he sighed in relief, the knots beginning to loosen.

"Good…my nerves can take a break then" he smiled as he walked towards the couch, taking my seat beside her head.

"Don?" she turned to look at him before a grin spread over her face.

"Oh thank god, are you alright? Nothing too serious, was it? How are you feeling?" she rambled, completely forgetting about her predicament as she gently looked over his bandaged arm.

"Thank you, doctor. I'm fine now" he gave a toothy smile as she realised the irony. Embarrassed, she moved away from his arm and settled down.

"Don't get your hopes up, I was just _mildly_ curious" she tried playing it off, making me snort. She was actually cute when she blushed; even better when she's angry.

"I don't need that attitude, Buzz. Bugger off" she shooed me, gesture and all, as she turned her back to both of us.

"Have fun, Donnie...Oh, and Donnie?" I began to head to bed before turning around.

"Yea?" he called, poking Lea in the back until she tried swatting him.

"Good job" he smiled in pure appreciation at me before settling into his place next to her, apparently realising that poking her wouldn't help, as I followed the call of a nice warm bed for the rest of the night.


	5. Fight Ninja with Ninja

My eyes fluttered open as I managed to focus on my blurry environment.

The dim light made it hard to make out anything.

It was only the barely visible circular ceiling that caught my attention.

'When the hell did I get in the sewers?' Mumbling tiredly, I tried sitting up before stifling a cry in my throat.

My leg was killing me; a pulsing ache effectively terminated any chance of bending it much less moving it, as I glared in irritation at the bandaged appendage.

Wait…bandaged?

Spinning my head, I finally noticed the body of Donnie quietly snoring next to me, the gap in teeth causing a short whistle now and then as he huddled into the corner of the couch.

"I remember…they helped me; I got Donnie shot, and they actually helped me" my brain finally awoke as short flashes of the conversation between me, Leo and Don flew around my mind; I could help smiling stupidly at the memory.

My eyes casted down onto his injured arm as I gently brushed my fingertips over the injury; their skin was so smooth but ridged at the same time (I was expecting a lot more slime, but that's along the same line as everything apparently tasting like chicken).

He tensed under my hand before quickly relaxing back into slumber; glad I didn't press with my whole hand, he might've woke up and I'd have to explain my…well, stroking, I guess.

On the other hand, I finally managed to focus on something else: call it mother's instinct, but I had the strong sense to go topside and find the tweedles who did this to him.

How could people be so cruel to people like Donnie, especially Donnie?

Violently shaking myself from my thoughts, I removed my hand from him and gently angled it under my leg, moving it off the table as I tried placing it on the ground.

I wouldn't be caught dead bloody _petting _Donnie; they may be growing on me but I was nowhere near the guardian angel act.

Nowhere near.

Not even close.

Nope.

Anyway, what was I doing? Oh yes, my leg.

The muscle tore and pulled sorely, forcing me to bite my lip as I tried standing, only ending up flopping on the opposite couch as said leg caved in from under me.

'Well, I'm not walking away anytime soon' my thoughts muttered, using what little arm strength I had to remove my face from the couch cushion as I angled my hands again to pull my leg onto the couch, thankfully less painful this time, and finally relax into the cushions.

Instantly bored after probably a few seconds, I angled myself off the couch in order to grab the remote off the floor.

"Wonder what's on. Hopefully my 'terrorism' issue hasn't reached the news yet. The last thing I need is more of my issues weighing this family down" I talked to myself, switching it on.

Suddenly, the finished race music of Mario Kart blasted full volume through the speakers, almost forcing my head into the pillow as I immediately switched it off, gripping the place above my chest in choking fright.

Goddamnit, Mikey!

Silence rang around the room, as I wouldn't dare move from my petrified pose.

Surprisingly, or rather unsurprisingly, no noise was heard as I breathed relief.

"I knew Michelangelo would win"

Yelping, I fell off the couch and looked up in embarrassed surprise at Splinter before gripping my leg in pain, muttering several profanities.

Still, Donnie would not wake up.

"I came out here expecting to have to tell off my son for disturbing the quiet, but I am glad to see you up and about. So to speak" he smiled as he offered his hand, supporting my leg as he pulled me up and back onto the couch.

"Thanks" I smiled, more relaxed than normal but it was probably due to a mix between getting shot and bandaged and getting used to the mutant family.

'No, no, no, don't say that; don't let them in, Lea. Remember training? Distance is safety, distance is good' my thoughts pushed through my dizziness but the recovery process lowered my resistance considerably.

"You should not move about so much, it'll irritate the wound," he chastised as I gave a small nod.

"Thanks, mom" he glared at the comment but quickly brushed it off; I suppose living with 4 teenage boys give the ability to tolerate sass.

"So then, in my experience, a bullet offers a thousand words alongside a tale. Care to share the story?" he smiled warmly, quietly placing the remote on the table.

Donnie shot off the couch, obviously disorientated, as he looked around in a daze.

"Whassat?" he stared into space before looking at me. I offered a small wave but if he noticed, I couldn't tell as he immediately flopped back on the couch, snoring happily.

"Donatello never was a light sleeper. He could be in his computer room for days before passing out for hours. I keep telling him it's not good for him but children know the world," he explained, laying a blanket over his curled form as he sat next to him.

'Distance is safety, distance is good, distance is…'

I couldn't tell if it was due to lowered resistance or some unconscious need to, but I couldn't help myself after witnessing a rather touching moment.

Simple yes, but still touching.

"I'm sorry," I blurted out quickly, visibly confusing him.

"Whatever for?" I tried putting up a barrier again, a lie already prepared in my mouth but what came out was, to put simply, emotional vomit.

"Anything and everything…you…you've been nothing but good to me and…and I know I have no reason not to trust you but…but I can't…I'm sorry I'm taking advantage…You deserve so much more than this…I'm so sorry" I sighed in shame. Damn, this is why I hate people; I don't want to deal with the weird shit.

"I still don't understand why you condemn yourself to such misery. You have nothing to be sorry for" he placed a hand on me but I immediately shrugged it off.

"Of course I do!" I snarled before looking away in regret; Splinter doesn't need to be the butt of my frustration.

I'll leave it for Raph later.

"My parents kicked me out when I was 7 because Abigail was their perfect daughter…in the 7 years they had me, I couldn't measure up so they got rid of me; the Hierarchy would never promote me, even after defeating their lieutenants at their theft records…instead my superior and everyone else treated me like trash and some tried me as a common _whore_" I took shaking breaths of compressed anger, constricting my chest, as I stared at one of the only good people in my life.

"I can't let you in; I refuse to surrender myself and be hurt again. To consider love, or affection, as helpful or embracing is childhood fantasy, and I have more than grown up to the world. Delude yourself, if you wish, but don't offer me smiles and call it love. It never is" I spat venomously at the man; eyes cast to the ground as I refused to face him.

Why the hell now? I was fine before any of this. Sure it was cold at night and you aim a knife at everyone you met but at least I knew what to do then; I knew how to act and what was safe: what part of affection and love promises safety?

I tell you: none.

Distance is safety. Distance is good.

It's always the same, this bloody feeling, just in a different form, and now this bloody rat and his pet children are ruining me and my "impenetrable" barriers.

What the hell do they even want from me?

I turned to stare into his eyes for some form of answer; some hidden agenda that I could at least understand so I could react with the proper action and leave this place without regret.

Seeing only a kind and old soul staring back with unmatched patience and strength, I resorted to my last defense, or my full retreat, if you will.

I broke, lowering my last few walls to try and scare him off.

No one likes baggage; they like it even less if it's someone else's.

"I'm not perfect…I'll never be good enough and I accept that now…but all I'll bring is pain to this family…please, don't let me," I practically begged, tensing as he stood up.

I wanted, _needed_, him to end whatever this was so I could rest and repair the damage he and the bloody family have caused me.

But it's never that simple, is it?

He looked up in reflection at my pleading expression, before silently easing me into a soft but firm hug.

"Nobody's perfect, my dear. You should know by now that we're not"

My brittle resolve shattered, the emergency walls weren't quick enough.

I gripped onto his arms tightly, pressing into him as I wept pathetically; a dependent toddler clutching at it's vice.

But y'know what? I didn't care at that point; sometimes you need to be a bit selfish in your life, and this is coming from a professional thief.

Ignoring the pain in my leg, I refused to move as I nearly collapsed under him.

"C'mon, my dear. Have a seat" he escorted me back onto the couch properly as I immediately became lethargic.

"Try to get some rest, you've out-done yourself" he patted my good leg before moving off and towards his station car.

"Thank you, Splinter," I mumbled, nestling into the couch.

"Whenever you need, my child"

* * *

><p>It was weakness.<p>

Once I re-awoke from my slumber, I had time to reflect on my actions as of late.

I'd officially lowered my walls in a daze and broke down in front of Splinter, and possibly the others if they heard. It was stupid and unfair, forcing them to listen to my petty squabbles.

We don't get anywhere in life by complaining about the cards we're dealt.

Thankfully, by then the rest of the family had awoken and was placing themselves around the living room: Donnie had moved to his rightful place by the computers; Leo was cautiously sitting next to my legs to the point when I had to kick him to get him to relax (it was worth it to see the look on his face) and Mikey and Raph were currently laughing about the story of this morning.

"Sorry, completely forgot we left the race on" Mikey tried sounding sincere but couldn't help the snicker.

"I'm not" Raph grinned as Leo had the courtesy to glare with me.

He's such a gentlemen, isn't he?

"Hey, Lea, can I borrow you for a sec?"

"Sure, Don" Leo offered support as I raised myself off the couch.

"Oh, Leo what would I do without you?" Mikey cooed with a high-pitched voice, causing the twin idiots to try to hold back their laughter, and fail at it miserably.

Leo and I rolled our eyes in sync as I absently threw my pillow at them, which they immediately threw back.

Moving to the corner, I managed to support myself on the desk as I perched next to Donnie; Leo took his place back, throwing the pillow again at the other two, who lowered themselves to quiet snickers.

I'm sharing a roof with children.

"What did you need, Donnie?" I asked politely, trying to look over his shoulder at the screen.

I didn't have to try for long.

Silently, he pushed the wheelie chair away from the desk, revealing the laptop screen of the latest news stories.

Do I need to carry on?

"Donnie, I-"

"Is it true?" he eyed me cautiously, watching every movement and expression for any hint of a lie; the endearing smile hidden under a slight scowl as he crossed his arms as if to hide any form of comfort from me.

"No" I immediately denied, motioning to the screen.

"You know me; whoever this O'Neil person is, they don't. If you don't believe me, I'll leave you in peace, because I'll not have conspiracies on my back" I stared him down defiantly, even though the insane feeling to immediately apologise for the crime I didn't commit forced itself into my mind.

He silently watched me as I blushed in growing embarrassment. Jesus, you'd think I would manage being interrogated but I was acting like a newbie.

How I've yet to be arrested is a blessing in and of itself.

"I believe you" he brought me out of my thoughts by eventually smiling, standing up off his chair and holding my shoulder.

"You'll need to tell the others, especially Splinter" he eyed me as we turned to see Raph and Mikey playing tug-of-war with the remote while Leo quietly face-palmed.

"That'll be the fun part. Just…give me some time and I'll tell Splinter today. I'll wait until I have his support before even thinking of telling Raph" I joked but the nervousness in my gut made its presence known.

"Smart move" he grinned before realizing his hand was on my shoulder and pulled away, embarrassed.

"Right, computers, updates, gotta…go do that" he quickly moved back onto his chair and began furiously typing on the keyboard.

Smiling at his childlike cuteness, I couldn't help hugging him from behind.

"Thank you for believing in me" I smiled serenely, before moving back to the circle of chairs, albeit a little slower considering my loss of support.

Flopping back next to Leo, I quickly dodged a flying remote as it barely missed one of the monitors behind me.

'Hey, watch it!" Donnie, a slightly darker shade of green, threw the remote at the empty couch.

He looked towards Raph and Mikey, who immediately pointed at each other.

"Aww, Leo, look. They're such a cute couple," I cooed, laying my head on Leo's shoulder as I smirked at the stuttering brothers.

"I'm not-"

"We're not-"

They stood stunned and blabbering for a few more seconds before huffing loudly, glaring at me intensely before flopping onto the couch and settling with watching "The Dark Knight". You can help but love the Joker in these films.

Smiling triumphantly to myself, I rested my body on Leo while trying to get a good view of the TV, and it was only until later that I would notice two important things:

My reserved and cautious nature was now completely and utterly lost on this family; I have no choice but to admit that (internally, of course. I haven't lowered all my defenses just yet)

I never once removed myself from Leo, even getting to the point where someone could even say I was cuddling into him, which Mikey pointed out and immediately joked about, but thankfully much later.

For the moment, they was unstable peace until the time came where I went in search of Splinter, isolated in the station car, bracing myself for the worst.

* * *

><p>Telling him was the most difficult task this week, but not for the reason you would think.<p>

Every time I tried to explain myself to Splinter, he simply waved me off, instead continuing his silent reflection; it was getting to the point where it was getting increasingly annoying.

I'm not some obnoxious pigeon you can simply wave off.

"Splinter, please listen to me" I used a crutch Leo had generously found for me as I wobbled over to the meditating rat.

"I am"

"Well, it certainly doesn't look like it" I lightly glared as I gently lowered myself into a nearby chair. The conditions of the car were cramped and cluttered but strangely felt "Splinter"

"I do not need eyes to hear, especially when I already foretell what will be said"

I tensed as I tried to retaliate, a natural reaction, but he quickly shushed me with a pointed stare.

"You need not apologise nor need repay for my family's help; we did so voluntarily, therefore you owe nothing"

'Thank God it isn't about the other thing' huffing, I crossed my legs to try and present myself as more in control.

"I do not accept charity, whatever need you require, ask and it will be done. I will not live with a debt on my conscience" I challenged; momentarily forgetting about the core reason I camehere in the first bloody place.

"There is no debt, so you are free to do as you please, my dear"

"But there is a debt"

"I've already said there isn't"

"There is"

"There isn't"

"There is"

"Enough" Clear irritation shone in his narrowed eyes as he began to stand.

'Well, he certainly knows how to lay the guilt trip' I thought nervously, suddenly regretting my comments, even though I was trying to help the stubborn git.

"I'm sorry, Splinter. Please get back to your meditation and I will return later"

"No, my dear, since you seem so fond of questioning, I believe we should discuss previous events. I am not as forgetful as I appear" he motioned to my injured leg before leaving the station car.

Well, shit.

Awkwardly, I pulled myself out the chair and towards a small alcove in the corner near the computers where two beanbags and a small coffee table were placed.

Donnie watched me out of the corner of his eye from his corner, offering an encouraging smile, before returning to his work; the others were completely enamored with "The Dark Knight Rises".

When the hell did they finish the other one?

"So…bean bags?" I couldn't help but smirk as Splinter elegantly flopped onto the red one, his long tail loosely curling itself around the base.

'They are surprisingly comfortable and do not hurt my tail as much as the living room. The life of a sewer rat, unfortunately" he smiled as I perched on a green one.

"Should we start with the leg?" his smile weakened but he still held it; I wasn't sure if it was for my sake or for his.

Sighing, I quickly relaxed more into the bag before retelling the night's events in detail, as much as I could remember.

I hesitated on the details surrounding the house fire; I wanted that information to be dealt with separately, but thankfully that little detail wasn't his main focus.

'I'll tell him later; better to allow him to relax before laying that news on him' I decided mentally, watching his reactions for any hint of suspicion.

"Why did you go into the vents?" he eyed me curiously.

He had to bring it up.

"It seemed like a good tactical advantage at the time" I defended in embarrassment, but I did admit it wasn't my best plan.

I just didn't say it out loud.

"The Foot were dotted around the lower floors, there was no way I could risk it" I crossed my arms stubbornly while Splinter lifted his hand to hide the blatant smile.

"Of course, my dear, of course" he laughed to himself before his expression became more grave.

"Is it true: are the Foot taking over the other groups?" worry fluttered across his expression for brief moments at a time.

"I'm not sue, it's possible they have moles in the organizations but so far, there's been no obvious takeover. Not surprising considering stealth is crucial if this supposed plan is going to work" I explained in as honest an opinion as I could muster. It did not settle him.

"I do know that they're becoming more popular in the underground trade networks; they're growing in power but, from what I can tell, it's from an outside source. Whoever the leader is or that woman, they hold remarkable control over the network; they have a lot of insiders at their disposal" I shrugged, but he couldn't expect anything more. While Splinter may consider this a major threat, an understandable conclusion, to me it was simply a business discussion. I mean, it's not like influxes of power are rare in the underground markets; I highly doubt that the Foot will last long before another hostile takeover occurs.

When I finally finished rambling to myself, I noticed the contemplating look etched onto his face; it was focused enough to instill patience but also a sense of eeriness. Something about his eyes was just…unnerving.

"Splinter?" I tried catching his attention but I might as well of been talking to Mikey.

He didn't immediately react, or even notice me; he simply smiled to himself, seemingly lost in his thoughts.

"It seems you have sent a clear sign, sensei," he mumbled to himself before focusing on me.

"If what you say is true, that the foot clan have created a foothold in the city…we will need to retaliate"

Oh no, he's finally lost it.

"Splinter, it a natural takeover; nothing explicit has happen to warrant immediate attention. Besides, are you forgetting the sole recruitment of the Foot Clan is an entire army of goddamn ninjas? There's no way we can fight t- wait, why did you say 'we'?" I interrupted myself as Splinter rose from his beanbag.

"I studied the art of ninjutsu for many years under the guidance of my sensei before he was murdered and I, as a harmless rat, was abandoned in the sewers, eventually discovering and adopting my sons. Lord knows I wanted to protect my sons from the battle the Foot has brought into the world through deception and betrayal…but it is a sign; I cannot coddle them any longer" it was as if he had grown in size; I've never seen him so determined before, although that might be due in large fact to the 5 day timespan between meeting him and now.

However, I couldn't help but stare in amazement as he seemingly held his staff with a newfound purpose.

"My sons will venture topside more often, of that I have no doubt…but I refuse to let them leave blindly" his gaze held unlocked years of training and tactics, a recollection of impressive amounts of teaching and learning, that I couldn't help but nod along.

"Although, I will need your help Leandra in this matter"

…Wait, what did he just say?

"I don't know if you've noticed but I don't exactly have the _finesse _for this sort of thing" I instinctively tried to discourage him.

"I don't know if you've noticed" – Splinter outright mimicked me in almost childish mockery – "but I have been disconnected from above life for the past 10 years. So much has changed, so I will need your help to introduce my sons properly"

"Also, your knowledge of the criminal chains in the underworld will prove invaluable during their training" he finished, awaiting my response in patient attention.

Well, he suddenly jumped from being from a contemplative father to a hyperactive trainer. Go figure.

I sat in a newfound daze, processing every piece of information until I could speak logically.

"My debt – I help you, my debt will be repaid" was the only response I could manage; call it instinct, I guess. He nodded in understanding but his look still held minor disappointment.

I mean, of course I wanted to help the others out of, dare I say, affection (though I'll never openly say it, even though I highly doubt it'd make much difference at this point), however he's asking me to help take down the equivalent to a ninja mafia. That's not easy.

"I only ask for a place to stay, nothing more; I can provide essentials for myself. Please" I finished lamely as he nodded.

"We will arrange lodgings. For now, relax. My sons will begin training in the morning; feel free to observe their lesson. I imagine it will be…entertaining" his tail swished across the stone floor back towards the station car as I contemplated over my promoted position.

"You may not see us as family, but despite it all, I hope you see us as brethren. We are united under a common goal, after all" he called over his shoulder before closing the door behind him.

In the space of 5 days, I've been shot; my home destroyed; my belongings stolen; my name ruined, and now…I share a home with mutant turtle soon-to-be ninjas.

I've never felt safer, until now.

'Distance is safety' oh, hush you. I'm too tired for your squabbles.

Absently smiling to myself, I relaxed into the beanbag until my eyes fluttered close once again. Recovery really takes it out of you.

What was I going to say to Splinter, again?

Ah, can't be important.


End file.
